


Masquerade

by Sabeley



Category: SKAM (TV)
Genre: (prior to the start of the fic), Accidental Voyeurism, Blood and Violence, Bottom Even Bech Næsheim, Bottom Isak Valtersen, Car Sex, Enemies to Lovers, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Minor Character Death, Mystery, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, Undercover Missions, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-22 17:07:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 53,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13768644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sabeley/pseuds/Sabeley
Summary: Isak and Even were best friends before one botched mission tore them apart. When they are assigned to go undercover as newlyweds at an oceanside resort where couples are going missing, can they put their differences aside for long enough to solve the case? And can they fix what’s broken between them before it’s too late?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Fair warning: the detective work in this is all kinds of inaccurate, but I’m taking creative liberties—just like every procedural cop drama ever. This is also unapologetically set in America because fuck if I know how law enforcement works anywhere else. The explicit rating is in reference to sexual content (you know me). The crimes discussed are on par with a Criminal Minds episode, which is rated for anyone 14 and up. 
> 
> Also, an extra special thank you to Josie, Mack, and Julia for reading through this and reassuring me that it does, in fact, make sense because I had forgotten how hard it is to write actual plot. 
> 
> This whole fic is already written and chapters will be posted as fast as I can edit them. Enjoy!

Isak jumped at the sound of a door slamming shut and immediately groaned in frustration at his overreaction. It was becoming a habit. Even after a year, the most innocuous sounds still reminded him of gunshots. He looked up, fully prepared to yell at the mindless idiot who decided to make loud noises in a place like this, but instead of a mindless idiot, he found Even already glaring back at him like he had developed the ability to read minds. He scoffed, as if the very sight of Isak made him sick, and then stormed out of the building altogether, grabbing his jacket off of the back of his chair as he did so. Isak wracked his brain, trying to think of what could possibly warrant so much irritation on an otherwise normal day at work, but came up with nothing. The most obvious answer would be that he had been fired, but Isak knew that if they hadn't fired him a year ago after everything that went down, they certainly weren't going to do it now. 

Isak was still lost in his own thoughts with his pen poised above a case report when Sana’s office door clicked open once more as if it had never been slammed shut in the first place. 

“Isak,” she called across the room, gesturing him over with a wave of her hand. Isak could feel his coworkers watching him and he fought back the blush that threatened to rise. He put his pen down and headed her way, trying unsuccessfully to convince himself that the tone of her voice coupled with Even’s recent departure wasn’t ominous at all. She snuck back into her office once she was satisfied that he was following her and by the time he slipped into the room, she was already sitting behind her desk with an annoyed frown on her face as if Isak had kept her waiting. 

“Sit,” she said unnecessarily, so Isak shut the door behind him—taking pride in the fact that it barely made a sound at all—and then sat, staring across the desk at Sana who refused to blink. It was a show of power and Isak had no interest in playing her games, so he blinked just to get it over with and Sana immediately relaxed, gathering the case files in front of her into her arms. “I’ve got an assignment for you.” 

“Yeah,” Isak said, never taking his eyes off of the files. “I figured.” 

Sana sighed, clearly having no patience for his attitude, and opened the first folder, sliding it across the table for him to see. He tried to skim it quickly, but she apparently didn’t have the patience for that either. “For the past three months, there’s been a string of thefts at the Paradise Resort in Summer Hope, a small town on the coast. Engagement rings, credit cards, wallets—that kind of thing.” 

Isak furrowed his brow and continued skimming the file, trying to figure out what the catch was. A string of petty thefts certainly didn’t warrant their involvement. “Okay,” he trailed off. “What does that have to do with me?” 

Sana held up a finger like she was glad he asked and then pointed at the bottom line on an inventory of stolen items. “By now they’ve racked up over $100,000 in stolen goods, but that’s not even the problem.” She opened the next folder with a flourish and set that one on top of the first. There was a picture at the top of a pretty blonde girl who had her lips painted with bright red lipstick. “Meet Noora Amalie Sætre. Three weeks ago she was abducted from a bar bathroom in Summer Hope and held for ransom. Her new husband—who is too rich for his own good, if you ask me—paid it without getting the cops involved.” 

**__**

Isak frowned. “How much?” 

“$250,000.” 

Isak balked at the amount, trying to imagine a life where that kind of cash was just lying around. “And they released her?” he asked incredulously. 

Looking a bit perplexed herself, Sana nodded. “He deposited the money in some offshore bank account and Noora was found wandering the streets less than an hour later with no memory of any of it. There was no sign of physical assault, only a few bruises around her wrists from where she had been tied up. She doesn’t remember anything—drugged, according to the tox screen.” She looked over at Isak as if expecting him to ask questions, but he was too overwhelmed to say anything, still trying to piece together what this had to do with _him._

Sana’s voice grew more somber as she continued. “Same thing happened again a little over a week later. One of the guys was abducted from a public bathroom out by the pool, the other found a ransom note lying on their bed later that night. He, at least, had the good sense to call the cops, but it ended up not mattering. They couldn’t figure anything out before the time limit and, understandably, this guy wasn’t willing to risk it, so he paid the money. His husband was returned, perfectly fine, with no memory of the situation at all.” 

“They’re targeting people they know can pay the ransom,” Isak noted. “It’s just about the money.” 

Sana hummed like she agreed, but wouldn’t say more without incontrovertible evidence. “We’ve scanned through what information we could find on the employees and guests, but the suspect list is still about a mile long.” She opened the third and final folder and set it in front of Isak. “It’s a small town. A lot of the employees pick up shifts at multiple resorts and bars, so it’s been hard to narrow anything down. Plus, the local authorities are being less than helpful. They don’t want to call people in for questioning because they don’t want to draw attention to the fact that a crime happened in the first place.” 

Isak’s frown deepened as he pulled the suspect list closer, trying to make sense of the names and faces. “Do you think they’re involved somehow?” he asked, looking up. “The local police?” 

Sana shrugged. “I don’t think they’re smart enough for that, to be honest. I think they’re just trying to brush it under the rug so no one tips off the press. It’s a tourist town and if people find out that tourists are getting abducted and held for ransom, I can’t imagine that’s going to be great for business. They want our help to get this taken care of fast before word starts getting out.” 

After one last perusal, Isak closed the folder and set it down on the desk, leaning back in his chair to put as much distance between him and Sana as he could before asking his next question. “So what does this have to do with me?” 

Sana let out a weary sigh and looked over at him, her brown eyes imploring. “We need someone on the ground, Isak,” she said. “Or two someones, as it were.” 

And there it was. Isak scoffed and rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, already done with this entire conversation. “You need _bait_ ,” he corrected. 

Sana winced. “Bait is a last resort,” she argued and then began speaking louder when Isak tried to interrupt her. “I’m hoping you can figure this out before it gets to that—talk to people, stake out the bars, report any suspicious activity. If you play your cards right, this is basically a free vacation for you. This place is not cheap. You have no idea what I’ve had to go through to get the budget for it.” 

Isak, who was already throwing a pity party for himself, wasn’t in the mood to attend Sana’s as well. “And what if I _do_ get kidnapped, huh? Do you have the budget for that?” 

“Of course I have the budget for that,” she said, rolling her eyes. “And you’ll have GPS trackers on. Believe it or not, I know what I’m doing.” 

Isak’s heart was racing in anger and for the first time in quite a while, he actually empathized with Even who had stormed out of her office only minutes before, probably having just listened to this exact same spiel. He belatedly realized that he was half out of his seat, leaning towards Sana’s desk like he was about to lunge over it, so he sat back down, willing himself to stay calm. “Who am I going with?” he asked once he was able to speak. He knew the answer, but he wanted to make her say it—to make her _explain_ it. 

To her credit, she didn’t balk at the task in the slightest. “Even,” she answered, gathering the scattered files back up so that she wouldn’t have to look him in the eye. Her tone left no room for argument, but Isak was determined to argue anyway. 

“Why, Sana?” he practically begged, hoping pity would serve him better than anger. Sana shuffled uncomfortably in her seat. “Why would you do this to me? We don’t work well together. We—” 

“You _do_ work well together,” she interrupted, her voice hard. “Just because the two of you can’t see that right now—” 

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Isak hissed, leaning forward in his chair once more. “The last time we worked together—” 

“Those were _extreme_ circumstances,” she snapped and Isak could tell her patience was wearing thin. They might be friends, but she was still his boss and it seemed like he had pressed his luck enough for one day. “Isak, look,” she said, dropping her rock hard exterior so that he could see the compassion underneath. “You’re the best people for the job. You’re both trained for undercover work, you’ve worked together before, and—most importantly—I trust you to take this seriously. I know it won’t be easy. I know the last thing you want to do is be sequestered alone with him for however long this takes, but I _need_ this, okay? So do it for me?” 

Her lip jutted forward in the most pathetic pout and all Isak wanted to do in the moment was make her happy—which was probably her plan all along. He couldn’t bring himself to actually say yes, but slowly, fighting against all of his better instincts, he nodded. Sana’s pout disappeared immediately and she smiled, clearly pleased with herself. 

“Perfect,” she said. “I’ll get the case files to you by the end of the day. Memorize them.” Feeling a bit as if he’d just been hypnotized, Isak agreed. “Oh,” she added, opening the top drawer of her desk and sliding a small box towards him. “I almost forgot. You’re going to need this.” 

Isak opened the box warily, not sure what to expect. Inside, shining up at him with all of the destructive power of an atomic bomb, was a gold wedding band. 

What the hell had he just gotten himself into? 

* 

When he stepped out of Sana’s office a little while later, his legs were shaky beneath him. It wasn’t that he was scared—as far as undercover work went, an expensive oceanside resort wasn’t the worst place he’d ever been stationed—but something about the assignment left him feeling lost. When he and Even had worked together before, there had been an unbreakable trust between them. That trust was now long gone and that terrified him. 

Out of habit, his eyes drifted towards Even’s desk and he was surprised to find that he was already back, his fingers flying over his keyboard as he raced to meet his deadlines before hopping on a plane to nowhere the next morning. Isak wasn’t sure why he did it, but he swallowed his pride and walked over, needing someone— _anyone_ —to commiserate with. He should have known better than to go to Even looking for sympathy. 

“So,” he said with a chuckle as if they were both in on some bad joke. Even didn’t even look up, just sighed in annoyance at the interruption. “It looks like we’re working together again.” 

“Looks that way,” Even grumbled, his fingers still moving lightning quick. Isak watched them instead of Even’s face. 

“I was thinking that maybe we should sit down and go over the case files together if you have time. We could—” 

“Isak,” Even snapped, pausing long enough to glare up at him. Isak took a step back, surprised by the vehemence in his voice. “We’ve still got a good twelve hours before we leave. I see no reason to waste it.” He then turned back to his computer, his cheeks flushed in anger, and Isak silently sidled away, his stomach in knots as he thought about the days ahead that he would have to spend alone with someone who hated him. He spent his last twelve hours of freedom thinking about Even and he didn’t enjoy it at all. 


	2. Chapter 2

The plane lurched forward enough to rattle the overhead compartments and for the fifth time since take-off, Isak was convinced he was going to die. He was a nervous flyer at baseline, but coupled with the Even-shaped butterflies zooming around his stomach, he honestly thought he might throw up. He hadn’t been this nervous for a case in years—but then again, he didn’t actually think it was the case that was making him nervous. It was Even, who was sitting next to him with a true crime novel opened on his lap, ignoring Isak as if he didn’t exist. 

Isak needed something to help release his pent-up energy, so he began fiddling with the wedding band around his finger. He spun it this way, then that way, wanting nothing more than to tear it off of his finger for good, but knowing that he couldn’t. It felt like a cage, trapping him in the same nightmare he’d been reliving for twelve months. It felt like an anchor, pulling him back down into the dark depths of his past. 

The next time they struck turbulence, Isak’s nerves reached a breaking point and he snapped. “We should probably go over our cover stories,” he said, speaking for the first time since they’d taken their seats. Even gave no indication that he’d heard Isak, just turned the page in his novel and continued reading. Isak wavered for only a second before barreling on anyway, knowing that the act of recitation would calm him if nothing else. “Isak and Even Andersen, married last Saturday, now en route to our honeymoon in Summer Hope. You’re an award-winning film director with the imaginary bank account to back it up and—Did you see your IMDB page, by the way? It looked super legit.” Even sighed heavily and turned the page in his book once more. Isak resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “ _I_ ,” he continued, this time a little louder, “am a high school biology teacher. I was voted Teacher of Year last year, by the way. You should be honored to have me as a—” 

“Isak,” Even interrupted, closing his book with a snap and glaring over at him without even a trace of amusement in his eyes. “I know all of this already and you saying it out loud is the opposite of maintaining our cover.” 

“We’re not there yet, though,” he pointed out. “Our cover doesn’t start until we get off of the plane.” 

Isak instantly got the feeling that he had walked into a trap he hadn’t even realized was being set because Even just sneered before turning back to his book as if he had never looked away. “Then we’ll talk when we get off of the plane.” 

* 

The torture started immediately, as if Even was trying to prove a point. He kept his hand on the small of Isak’s back as they disembarked from the plane and even once they were in the airport proper, he didn’t move it. He just guided Isak towards baggage claim, chattering all the while about whether they should spring for the parasailing excursion or choose the snorkeling one instead. It was more than Isak had heard him say in a year and the frivolity of it made him feel empty inside. 

Isak felt like a passenger in his own life as Even took charge, grabbing both of their bags off of the luggage carousel and then leading him outside where he flagged down a taxi. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been expecting it—he knew how charming Even could be when he tried—but the sudden shift from nothing to everything left Isak feeling lost and adrift, like the anchor around his finger really was determined to drown him. Even ushered him into the taxi first and Isak was only a little bit surprised that when he slid in next to him, he threw his arm over Isak’s shoulder and pulled him into his side. That was what couples did, after all. 

As Even struck up a conversation with the cab driver—first about their vacation plans, and then, casually, about any “unsafe” parts of town they might need to avoid—Isak found himself distracted by his own thoughts. If Even actually were his husband, he would return all of his small gestures of affection to let him know that they were wanted. It would be so simple to just reach out and place his hand on Even’s knee as if they’d done it a million times before, but he was frozen, tangled up in the boundaries of propriety. 

Although he had done undercover work before, he had never done _this_. He had never pretended to be in a romantic relationship with _anyone_ , much less someone who blamed him for their best friend’s death, and he was suddenly struck by the realization that he didn’t know what the hell he was doing. _We should have discussed this_ , he realized—not for the first time—because he didn’t actually know what he was _allowed_ to do. Even had made it clear for the past year that he wanted nothing to do with Isak. If he touched him, would he pull away? Would that blow their cover entirely? 

The moment passed and Isak kept his hands to himself. 

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Even asked, startling Isak from his thoughts. He was leaning close and speaking into Isak’s ear, but it wasn’t a proper whisper. His voice still carried to the front seat—every move calculated, every word precise. When Isak just stared at him blankly, Even smirked and then nodded out the window. Isak followed his gaze and found that they were driving over a cliff with the ocean strewn out before them, the late afternoon sun shimmering off of the white-capped waves. 

“Yeah,” Isak agreed breathlessly. “It is.” 

Even smiled at him then and it looked so real that Isak had to turn away. It felt too much like before—back when they were friends—and a pang of longing shot through his heart at how much he wanted it to be true. This facsimile just wasn’t the same. It was like he was dying of thirst and being given only salt water to drink. It looked the same, but it would kill him in the end. 

They drove the rest of the way in silence and by the time they pulled into the white-washed resort, the sun was just starting to set over the water. And even amidst the chaos inside of him, Isak couldn’t help but notice that it was beautiful. 

Even paid the cab driver and as soon as they stepped out onto the curb, there was a young, blonde boy in a bellhop uniform waiting with a luggage trolley. “Hi,” he smiled. “I’m Julian. Welcome to Paradise!” Even greeted him cordially, introducing first himself and then Isak, and then helped him load their bags onto the cart before all three of them headed into the lobby. 

The first thing Isak noticed was that the place was massive. The second was that it was empty. There was an older couple sitting on a couch in the corner, but aside from that, it was as if they had stepped into a ghost town. The inside of the building was just as white-washed as the outside, accented in shades of blue with seashell and coral paraphernalia everywhere, and a giant glass bubble chandelier hung from the ceiling. Isak couldn’t take his eyes off of it as Julian stopped them just inside the door. 

“Check-in counter is right over there,” he said unnecessarily, pointing them in that direction. “Eva will get you all settled and your bags will be waiting in your room when you get there.” Isak tore his gaze away from the chandelier and turned back to the smiling boy, alarm bells going off in his head. 

“Oh, no, that’s fine,” he started to say, but Even wrapped his fingers tightly around Isak’s wrist, silencing him. 

“Isak,” he chuckled, rolling his eyes at Julian like his husband was being ridiculous. “Let the man do his job. We’re on vacation.” 

Isak opened his mouth to argue but knew that making a big deal out of it would only arouse suspicion. “Right,” he said, letting go of the strap of his suitcase that he hadn’t even realized he was holding on to. “Thank you.” Julian nodded good-naturedly and then took off, leaving Isak and Even alone. 

“My gun’s in that bag,” Isak hissed immediately, his voice barely loud enough to be heard. Even rolled his eyes. 

“You _really_ haven’t figured out this whole undercover thing yet, have you?” Without another word, he walked to the check-in counter, Isak trailing along behind him, and greeted the redhead at the desk with his most charming smile. 

“Hi,” he grinned. “We’re here to check in? Reservations should be under Andersen. I’m Even and this is my husband, Isak.” He hooked his arm around Isak’s waist and then pulled him into his side like he was showing him off. Isak felt his cheeks heat under the attention and Eva—whose name tag also read “General Manager”—smirked at the two of them as she began clicking away at her computer. “Aw, you’re blushing,” Even cooed, turning his attention back to Isak and running his thumb along his cheek like he might be able to wipe the blush off. “I already told you: literally _nothing_ is going to stop me from telling everyone we meet that I am your husband because I haven’t gotten to say it nearly enough.” 

His thumb paused its track across Isak’s cheek and then they were just staring at each other like they really were two lovers capable of getting lost in the other’s eyes. God, Even was good at this—not even just at the pretending, but at making people feel special. Isak wondered how detached from reality you had to be to look at someone you hated with so much love that it felt real. 

“Honeymoon?” Eva asked, pulling them out of their trance as she passed two keycards over the counter. Even held Isak’s gaze for another long second before turning back to her and pocketing the cards. When Isak finally looked up, Eva was smiling, clearly amused by the two of them. 

“It is!” Even announced happily and Eva’s smile only widened. 

“Well, I think you’re going to enjoy it here,” she said, pulling out a brochure and passing that over as well. “Here are all of our amenities. If you need help booking an excursion or making dinner reservations, our concierge is always happy to help. Otherwise, you’re on the second floor—room 2121. Feel free to call down if something is not to your liking.” 

Even nodded his thanks and pocketed the brochure, but Isak wasn’t quite ready to leave just yet. “It seems...empty,” he said to Eva and he felt Even tense up next to him. “Is it your off-season or something.” 

“It’s June,” Eva pointed out with a laugh. “Peak tourist season actually, but we’ve been running at about half capacity for a few months now. It’s getting a bit hard to compete with the Hamptons and the Holiday Inns—pricewise, at least.” 

Isak let out a commiserating hum, trying to look sympathetic even though his insides were coming alive with excitement. _See that_ , he wanted to say to Even. _That’s motive_. 

“Quality over quantity—that’s what I always say,” Even said, grabbing Isak's hand and finally pulling him away. “Thank you for your help.” 

Eva nodded her goodbye and then the two of them walked across the lobby, every step echoing like a thunderclap on the marble floor, and stepped into the elevator. Even dropped Isak’s hand as soon as the doors shut behind them and although his smile had not yet faded, the fact that it was the first time he had taken his hands off of Isak since the plane landed seemed poignant somehow, like the elevator was stripping them of their masks with each floor it travelled until eventually they were the same bitter people they had been before. Once they made it behind the locked door of their suite, the pretenses dropped completely. 

“You’re going to have to get better at that,” Even said as soon as the door shut behind them. He didn’t wait for Isak to reply before collapsing spread-eagle onto the king-sized bed and throwing his arms over his face as if to keep the light out. “Every time I touch you, you flinch,” he added, his voice muffled. 

“Yeah,” Isak agreed because he knew it was true. “I just wasn’t expecting it, I guess. I’ll be fine now.” Even let out a noncommittal noise, like he didn’t care either way, and then fell silent. 

Their suite was larger than Isak had expected since Sana kept droning on and on about the department’s flagging budget. The room was divided into two separate sections—the living area and the bedroom. Both were immaculately decorated in whites and blues, keeping with Under the Sea theme the whole place seemed to be sporting, and the bed looked so damn soft that Isak had half a mind to climb up there next to Even and take a nap as well. To keep himself from doing that, he slipped into the bathroom instead and got lost in a fantasy of the steaming hot shower he was going to take as soon as they were settled into the room for the night. His muscles were already cramping from so long on a plane and he wanted nothing more than for this day to be over. 

Once he finished looking around, he turned off the lights and then stepped back into the bedroom, noticing their suitcases for the first time. He went to his and unzipped it immediately. 

“Do you think Sana would notice if we just laid here and did nothing all week?” Even asked at the sound. When Isak looked over at the bed, he was still laying where Isak had left him, his arm tossed casually over his face. 

Isak shrugged even though he knew Even couldn’t see it. “I think we at least need to leave to get dinner,” he said. “I’m starving.” Even perked up at that, lowering his arm so that he could sit up on his elbows to meet Isak’s gaze. “Plus, do you really want to lay around and do nothing with me all week?” he added. He meant for it to be a jibe at Even’s attitude in recent months, but it came out sounding more suggestive than he meant it. Even must have heard it too because he smirked, forcing Isak to turn back to his suitcase so that Even wouldn’t see him blush. 

Once he got the combination lock off of the outside of his bag, he began rummaging through it, tossing his neatly-folded clothes to the floor haphazardly. 

“We probably _should_ scope out the place,” Even agreed from behind him. “See what we’re working with. Find the exits.” He paused as if thinking about something and then added, “And the ice machine.” 

Isak rolled his eyes, but ignored Even and continued searching through his things. He grabbed his gun case out of the bottom of his bag, pleased to find that it was still locked and that the weight felt familiar in his hand. He then checked to make sure that the only other thing he had worth stealing—a watch that had once been his grandfather’s—was there as well. Much like himself, it had been brought along as bait, but it was still right where Isak had left it, tucked into the outside pocket of his suitcase. Satisfied that everything was still where it was supposed to be, Isak began re-packing his bag. 

“What are you doing?” Even asked. 

“Checking to see if the bellboy stole anything,” Isak said, snapping his bag shut. He turned back to Even, silently daring him to challenge him, and then gestured to his own bag, sitting next to Isak’s. “You want yours?” he asked just to be a jerk. He knew that the last thing Even wanted to do at that moment was get up and work, but there was no way he would let Isak one-up him. Even let out a sigh of frustration, but made grabby hands for it, and Isak passed it over. 

“Were you listening to the cab driver earlier?” Even asked as he began shuffling through his own things. “That was weird, right?” Unwilling to admit that he hadn’t been paying attention to a damn thing the cab driver said, Isak just hummed, hoping Even would elaborate. Luckily, Even was the type of person that liked hearing himself speak. “It was like he hadn’t heard about the abductions at all. I don’t think he was lying. He was more than willing to tell us to keep our valuables locked up.” He held up his own still-locked gun case as evidence and then dropped it back into his bag. 

Isak leaned back against the wall behind him and shrugged. “Sana said they were trying to keep quiet about the whole thing.” 

“Yeah,” Even agreed, “but I didn’t know she meant _that_ quiet. I thought she meant they were just keeping it out of the papers.” 

Isak didn’t have an answer for him, so they drifted back into silence. It was a thick, stifling silence that sat heavy between them like smog and Isak was starting to worry that it might suffocate him before the week was over. He didn’t like silence, especially not around Even. It reminded him too much of what could have been. 

“What about what the manager lady said?” he asked and Even’s eyes flickered back up to him from where they had drifted away. “It sounds like they could be having some financial troubles, but Sana didn’t mention that and it wasn’t in the case file.” 

“No,” Even agreed. “I can call Mutta and get him to check their tax information, but if they’re involved in something fraudulent—” 

“Like extortion?” Isak interrupted and Even actually smiled. 

“They’re probably smart enough not to list it as an asset,” Even finished and then sighed. “I guess we can add that to our to-do list: get a good look at their books.” 

That was what Isak hated most about undercover work. He liked plans. He liked being told what to do and then doing it. He didn’t like being tossed into a lion’s den and forced to figure things out as he went along. It _was_ thrilling though, he had to admit, and he’d never been in a lion’s den quite this lovely before. 

“After dinner,” he decided. “I really am hungry.” 

Even seemed more than agreeable, so Isak grabbed a change of clothes out of his bag and went into the other room to get ready. He dressed quickly, not wanting to give Even another reason to hate him by hogging the bathroom, but when he stepped back into the main area he realized that his generosity would go unrecognized because Even didn’t seem to need a closed door to change behind. He had already slipped into a nice pair of dress slacks, but he hadn’t yet buttoned them so he was just standing on the other side of the bed, shirtless, with his pants hanging open and his hair adorably mussed. 

Isak would be lying if he said he wasn’t attracted to him, but that was something he had come to terms with long ago. He even remembered joking about it on the night before everything fell apart. 

“You’re too hot to be a cop,” he had said as they sat getting shit-faced at a bar by the station, both just coming off of a twelve-hour shift. Even laughed, his whole face coming alive with joy, and he leaned into Isak’s side until his breath tickled his cheek. 

“If I’m too hot to be a cop, you’re too hot to be a cop.” 

Isak scoffed. “It’s not the same. I’m, like, the type of attractive you would expect from a cop. You—you are fucking beautiful. You should be a model or a—I don’t know—porn star or something.” 

Even’s smile widened. “Yeah?” he asked, his voice soft, and Isak remembered him leaning in, tilting his head. He remembered thinking that Even wanted to kiss him. 

They were interrupted that night by someone crashing into the booth across from them and they turned to find a bright-eyed Mikael, his cheeks flushed from the shots he and Elias had been taking at the bar. 

“What’s going on over here?” he asked knowingly, clapping Even on the back of the hand. 

“Nothing,” Even insisted, but it was obvious that he was endeared. “Isak was just telling me that he thinks I’m beautiful.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Mikael said, feigning surprise. “Did I interrupt a moment?” He rolled his eyes and then continued, smiling at both of them. “You’re not allowed to have a moment. Not for another two weeks—I told you this. I’m determined to win that pool.” 

The memory played through Isak’s mind like a movie and maybe it was because he was thinking about Mikael or maybe it was just because he had never actually seen it before, but he looked right past the definition of Even’s abs and found instead the puckered scar tissue at his side. He flinched back, the echo of gunshots ringing in his ears, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away. He remembered holding pressure to that wound as Even bled out. Remembered Even yelling for him to help Mikael instead. He remembered his hands covered in warm blood when the paramedics arrived, remembered them having to pry his fingers off of Even to get him to let go of his lifeless body. 

It wasn’t until Even slipped his shirt over his head, covering the evidence, that Isak snapped back to the present. Even was looking at him, his brow furrowed—clearly aware of what Isak had been looking at—but thankfully, he didn’t say anything. Isak had never stopped to think how hard it must be for him, living with a constant reminder of that night painted on his skin. It was hard enough for Isak waking up from the nightmares of blood-stained hands. 

* 

Dinner that night was overwhelming for many reasons, not the least of which was that the restaurant at the hotel was fucking fancy and Isak had more forks in front of him than he knew what to do with. That was only the half of it though. The worst part was that he felt surrounded and it made him paranoid. Screw the lion’s den, this was a nest of vipers. Someone could be watching them right now, scoping out their every move to try to find the best way to incapacitate them. When their waiter, a good-natured man named Mahdi, brought them their food, Isak wondered if it was poisoned. And as he sat back in his seat, watching the curly-haired bartender making a show of mixing drinks across the room, he found himself scrutinizing him extra closely, waiting for him to slip something _else_ into the cocktails as well. It was exhausting. Sana had lied: this wasn’t like a vacation at all. 

Isak’s pulse was pounding so loud in his veins that it was drowning out the sounds of the dining room around him, but before he could properly start to panic, Even surprised him by reaching out with his thumb and running it along Isak’s bottom lip under the pretense of wiping a stray bit of food away. Isak turned to him in surprise. 

“You need to calm down,” Even whispered and although his words were kind, his smile seemed forced. “We are literally just eating dinner. Here, try a bite,” he added, spearing a piece of fish onto his fork and offering it to Isak. Unsure of what else to do, Isak wrapped his lips around the fork and swallowed the food that Even was offering him. It did taste good—delicious, actually—and the repetitive action of chewing calmed his nerves enough to relax back into his chair. “Good?” Even asked and Isak nodded. 

Even dropped his fork and took a small sip of the red wine that he had ordered. When he set it back down, he threw his arm over the back Isak’s chair like he was determined to be touching him at all times while they had an audience. “You used to be better at this,” Even noted and Isak couldn’t help the surprised laugh that escaped him. He _did_ used to be better at this. Honestly, if he were there with anyone else, he probably _would_ be better at this, but there was something about Even’s touch that threw him off his game. That, at least, was something he could try to fix. 

“Listen,” he said, pushing his own plate to the back of the table. He hadn’t eaten much, but his stomach was tangled into knots so tight that he knew he wouldn’t be able to choke down another bite. “We need to talk about this.” 

Even’s face immediately darkened and he retracted his arm. “Isak, now is not the—” 

“Not about that,” Isak interrupted. “About all the...touching.” 

“The touching?” Even asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement. Isak could feel his cheeks heat, but he was determined to ignore it. The lights were low—their table lit only by the flame of a candle sitting in the center of it—so he was hopeful that Even wouldn’t notice. “We’re married, Isak. We’re supposed to touch.” 

“I know,” Isak said, waving him off. “And that’s fine. I just feel weird touching you without your permission, so I need you to tell me it’s okay.” He hated asking—hated thinking about how they used to touch each other casually without a care in the world—but he knew Even thought that he had taken something away from him in that abandoned house a year ago and Isak didn’t want to take away his autonomy as well. 

Even looked uncomfortable at the question and that made Isak feel even more uncomfortable for having asked it. “It’s okay,” Even said eventually. “I don’t mind.” He paused and then, “Do you mind if I touch _you_?” 

“No,” Isak replied hastily. “I mean, you have been, so...it’s fine.” 

Even looked a bit shell-shocked and he stared at Isak for a long time, his eyes wide. “We should have talked about this before,” he realized and it wasn’t exactly an apology, but it felt like one anyway. 

A burst of confidence shot through Isak at his words and, before he could change his mind, he reached out and placed his hand on Even’s knee like he had wanted to in the cab earlier. Even tensed under his touch, but quickly relaxed, and Isak took some pleasure in the fact that for the first time all day, Even was the one who looked lost. He stared down at Isak’s hand, being far more obvious than Isak ever had, and it took him a solid minute before he swallowed down whatever he was feeling and turned back to his plate. “Should we get dessert?” he asked, his voice several octaves higher than usual. “Sana’s paying.” 

**__**

They finished their dinner and then walked back to their room hand-in-hand. They crawled into bed together, being careful to maintain a respectable distance between them, and although Isak eventually heard Even drift off after a few uncomfortable hours of silence, Isak didn’t sleep a wink the whole night. 


	3. Chapter 3

Once the sun started to rise the next morning, Isak climbed out of bed as Even slept on. He felt like he was suffocating trapped in that room with him. He needed some space to breathe. 

He wandered the halls for a little while to clear his head and eventually ended up at a pastry shop on the first floor where he ate a croissant alone. It probably would have been better for the case if he and Even had braved the big buffet breakfast with the rest of the resort, but he was too on-edge for that. He took a large sip of coffee instead and sighed at the way it soothed his throat. 

Figuring that the husbandly thing to do would be to bring Even breakfast as well, he ordered a bagel and a coffee (three creams, two sugars) to go. It irked him that he still knew Even's order by heart. 

He rode the elevator back to their floor, already dreading facing Even again, and was just about to put his keycard in the door when he caught sight of a housekeeping cart out of the corner of his eye. Curious, he walked over and—after looking in both directions to make sure no one was coming—began to rummage through it. He wasn’t even sure what he was looking for, he just needed to feel like he was doing _something_. 

He was scanning over a clipboard at the front of the cart, searching for guests’ names, when he heard a throat clear behind him. 

“Hello?” 

He turned, nearly spilling Even’s coffee in the process, and came face-to-face with a pretty girl with a pixie-cut coming out of the room behind him. 

“Hi,” he said, stepping away from the cart and willing himself to stay calm. _Channel your inner Even._ “Sorry,” he added, laughing a bit to brush off his blunder. “I just saw the cart and was hoping you might have some extra shampoo?” 

The maid—Emma, according to her nametag—smiled, any trace of distrust evaporating immediately. “Of course! It’s right…” She trailed off, leaning over the cart to grab a handful of small sample-sized bottles of shampoo from a bag at the front. “Here.” She passed them to Isak and he relocated Even’s breakfast to his left hand so he would to be able to grab them. 

“Thanks,” he said and then, when Emma just kept smiling at him expectantly, continued. “My husband’s a bit obsessed with his hair, so…” 

Emma giggled. “What room are you in?” she asked, moving to the other side of the cart so that she could jot something down on her clipboard. “I’ll be sure to leave extra for you.” Isak told her and then, not wanting to look even more suspicious by lingering, waved goodbye, silently reminding himself to leave his watch out when they left the room later that day to see if she would take the bait. 

He had to juggle Even's breakfast and the shampoo to get the door open, but once he was inside he breathed a sigh of relief. “Smooth, Isak,” he muttered to himself. “Very smooth.” 

He half expected Even to still be asleep, but the bed was empty and he could hear the shower running in the bathroom. He peeked in that direction, wondering if Even would mind if he stuck his head in to drop off the shampoo—and his chances looked promising considering that the door was already slightly ajar. So Isak made his way over, planning to just leave the bottles in the sink by the door, but he was stopped by a ragged moan before he could shoulder the door open the rest of the way. Isak froze. 

He knew immediately that he should just turn around and walk back into the hallway to give Even a few more minutes of privacy, but sheer curiosity kept his feet rooted in place. He peered around the door even though he knew that if he got caught, Even’s embarrassment certainly wasn’t going to help repair their already strained relationship, but he didn’t care enough to stop. 

The glass shower was already fogged up with steam, but Isak could still see the outline of Even clearly—could tell that he had his hand wrapped around his cock and was thrusting into it desperately. His other arm was propped on the glass and his head was resting on the pillow it created, his body too spent to hold it upright. Isak could hear his small whimpers and moans even over the sound of the water and he felt like he was dying, being allowed this and nothing else. 

He felt his own dick start to plump up against his thigh and he was so distracted thinking about what the fuck he was supposed to do about that since Even was hogging the bathroom that he accidentally loosened his grip on the shampoo bottles and they all went cascading to the floor. 

“Fuck,” he muttered, throwing one last glance at the hard lines of Even’s body glistening with water before setting the breakfast on top of the nearest table and bending down to collect the bottles that were now rolling everywhere. He could still hear the delicious sounds Even was making, each one shooting down to Isak’s dick like a jolt of electricity, but as he got farther away from the bathroom, the sound grew faint until eventually he was left alone with only the pitter-patter of the shower and his imagination. 

Isak was still hard when the water shut off a few minutes later, so he sat down at the desk in the corner and scooted the chair forward until his boner was out of sight. He tried to will it away, but the thoughts dancing around in his head certainly weren’t helping. Had Even come? And if he had, was it the kind of orgasm you enjoyed or the kind that left you wanting more? Had he been thinking about someone? Was there any chance that someone was Isak? It occurred to him then that he didn’t even know if Even was dating anyone. It was hard to believe that they were still the same people they had been that night with Mikael at the bar. 

It was the thought of Mikael that finally wilted his erection and by the time Even walked back into the room, bare-chested with his sweatpants hanging low on his hips, Isak was too morose to even blush. 

“I forgot to pack shampoo,” Even said upon noticing him, toweling his hair dry as he spoke. “And those damn sample bottles are fucking tiny.” 

“I got more,” Isak offered, pointing to the pile on the table. He had somehow fallen ass-backwards into a win there. 

Even eyed the bottles appreciatively and once he was done messing with his hair, turned to Isak with a smirk. “What did you do? Raid the maid cart?” He was in a good mood, Isak realized. Orgasms could do that to a person. 

“Something like that,” Isak agreed. “I also brought you breakfast.” He gestured to the bag of food and the cup of coffee sitting on the bedside table and Even raised his eyebrows in surprise, but thankfully didn’t comment on the odd behavior. He picked up the coffee cup and sniffed it. “Three creams, two sugars?” he asked hopefully and when Isak nodded, his face lit up. Isak hid a smile behind his shoulder. 

Even took a sip of the coffee and then sighed in satisfaction (Isak’s dick gave one last pathetic twitch in his pants). “You know,” Even mused. “We should probably eat breakfast in the main room with—” 

“I know,” Isak interrupted him, unwilling to listen to a lecture so early in the morning—not when he was already bitter about the fact that Even had gotten an orgasm and he hadn’t. “I just couldn’t this morning. We can do that tomorrow.” 

Even frowned, clearly wanting to say something more, but he refrained, silencing himself with another sip of coffee. He ate the rest of his breakfast while staring out the window at the ocean below. Neither of them said a word. 

It was only after Even had finished his last bite that an idea seemed to occur to him. He tore his gaze away from the window and smirked over at Isak like he was pleased to have information that Isak didn’t. 

“Oh, I know exactly what we should do today,” he said and his tone was so ominous that Isak was scared to ask questions. “And you’re going to absolutely hate it.” 

* 

“The pool?!” Isak cried in frustration for probably the fifth time. Even’s smirk grew wider with each repetition and his smug superiority should have been enough to shut Isak up, but it wasn’t. “Why the fuck do they even _have_ a pool? The beach is right there!” 

“Rich people don’t just lounge on the beach with the rest of us commoners, Isak,” Even said matter-of-factly. “Keep up.” His smirk that time was more playful than mean and Isak wasn’t sure if his good mood still stemmed from his recent orgasm, but he wasn’t about to question it. 

The two of them were dressed for a day outside in swim trunks and T-shirts, but it was far from comfortable. Isak hated showing so much skin—especially in an environment where he felt like everyone was watching his every move—and he kept having to pull his trunks down because they were way too short for comfort. They were old, the blue fabric faded to almost gray, but Sana hadn’t exactly given him time to go shopping for appropriate honeymoon attire. He also found that he was irrationally jealous of Even’s suntanned skin because he could already feel himself burning and they hadn’t even stepped outside yet. 

So, yeah, he was a bit frustrated, but what else was new? Honestly, if it had just been the pool and Even, that would be fine. Or maybe not _fine_ , but better. What he didn’t like was sharing the space with so many other people—which was, of course, exactly why Even had chosen it in the first place. There was a reason they had worked so well together once upon a time and it was because each of their weaknesses—Isak’s surliness and Even’s impulsivity—were the other’s strengths. They needed to meet people, to talk to people, to get a feel for what life was like at the resort. A day at the pool seemed like the most innocuous way to do that. 

Even chose a cabana right in the thick of things and Isak had to forcibly refrain from rolling his eyes. Despite the early hour, the place was already packed with guests and employees alike. He spotted Mahdi, their waiter from the night before, passing out fruity cocktails with a huge smile on his face. He spotted Eva, directing a string of teenage boys on where to set up more cabanas. Even the curly-haired bartender was already laughing with tipsy customers under the thatched-roof bar. 

“You okay?” Even asked from behind him and he sounded so concerned that Isak looked back immediately. Even had already kicked off his shoes and was laying back on the sunbed, pulling the same novel he’d been reading on the plane out of his bag. He looked beautiful with the sun shining off of his hair and Isak was grateful that the flush on his cheeks could be attributed to the heat. Even’s shirt was thankfully still on, but Isak knew he wasn’t about to take it off—not with such an obvious battle wound across his stomach. 

“I’m fine,” he said, although he didn’t quite sound it. Even huffed out a laugh at the obvious lie. 

“Here,” he said, passing Isak the sunscreen out of his bag. Isak took it gratefully. “I’m not going to listen to you whine about being burnt all week.” 

Isak wasn’t sure if the playful banter was real or manufactured, so he didn’t bother replying. Instead, he pulled his T-shirt over his head and began slathering himself in sunscreen. He turned away from Even as he was doing it, not wanting to stare him directly in the eye as he smeared oil all over his body, but when he began struggling to reach his back, he heard Even snort from behind him. 

“Do you need help with that?” he asked. Isak whipped around, half-convinced he was making fun of him, and found Even’s eyes trailing down his body appreciatively. Despite the heat, Isak shivered. 

“Whatever,” he said, offering Even the bottle. He then turned back around so that he wouldn’t have to look at him. 

Even climbed off of his own bed and onto Isak’s, straddling it with Isak between his legs. There was a click as the suntan lotion was opened and then a squirt as Even squeezed it into his hand. Isak tensed up, expecting Even to put it straight on his skin without bothering to warm it first, but he didn’t. He listened as Even rubbed his hands together and then there was a long pause during which he held his breath, his nerve-endings firing at high speed as he waited for Even to touch him. When he finally did, Isak let out a sigh of relief, although he wasn’t quite sure why. 

Even’s touch was clinical. He rubbed the lotion in without lingering longer than was appropriate and Isak once again found himself wondering what was real and what was just for show. He was getting whiplash trying to sort every word and every touch into its own category—trying to make it all make sense. 

Even’s touch was _so_ clinical that Isak started to think maybe this _was_ real—maybe Even just wanted to do a nice thing—but before he had even finished thinking it, Even’s fingers slowed, digging into Isak’s oiled skin deeper, pressing harder, and Isak couldn’t help the small moan of pleasure that escaped him. He thought back to that morning, to Even’s hands moving just like this over his dick, and he felt the first stirrings of arousal inside his already tight swim trunks. Well, fuck. He shifted uncomfortably under Even’s touch, trying to hide the bulge in his pants, but before he could pull away entirely, Even leaned in close until his lips were pressed sensually to the shell of Isak’s ear. When he spoke, Isak could _feel_ the words all over his body. 

“Don’t look now,” Even whispered. “But that blonde couple at ten o’clock has been staring at us since we sat down.” 

**__**

Isak wasn’t sure if it was the tickle of Even’s breath against his skin or the words coming out of his mouth, but his heart started pounding in his chest. To keep himself from glancing over immediately, he pushed back into Even’s hands, silently asking for more, and Even chuckled before indulging him. Then, after enough time had passed, Isak turned his head under the guise of getting a kink out of his neck and looked in the direction Even had pointed him. There _was_ a blonde couple there and they _were_ staring. Isak wasn’t quite sure why he was surprised by that. 

The man immediately turned away, looking up at the sky instead as if he hadn’t been staring at all. The woman didn’t bother. She just tilted her head, scrutinizing Isak closely, and he was so disturbed by the intensity of her gaze that he broke eye contact first. 

“What the fuck?” he hissed, trying to think of what they could have done to attract so much attention so soon after arriving. “Maybe they just think you’re hot." 

**__**

“They think _I’m_ hot?” Even asked doubtfully. “And even if they did, what the fuck are they planning to do about it? That is a _determined_ look they’re giving us. They can’t possibly think I would cheat on you on our honeymoon.” 

“Maybe they want both of us,” Isak shrugged, trying to keep from laughing. “I don’t judge other people’s sexual proclivities.” 

**__**

Even’s hands froze where they were massaging his shoulders and for a second Isak thought he had said something wrong, but then he felt Even lean forward to rest his forehead on the back of Isak's neck. After a mild jolt of surprise, Isak realized that he could feel Even’s body trembling with silent laughter against him. It was so hopelessly endearing and spoke of a familiarity Isak thought they had lost that he couldn’t stop himself from tensing up under Even’s touch. It was instinct—distance was the only way he knew how to protect himself from getting hurt—but as soon as Even felt it, he pulled away. 

“Could you at least pretend to like me?” he asked with a sigh, sitting up. “You’re supposed to be convincing people that you’d actually pay a ransom for me—not be thrilled that I disappeared in the first place.” 

“That’s not—” Isak started, but before he could finish his sentence, Even poked him hard in the side, causing Isak to jump and spin around to get away from his touch. Isak already had his mouth open to start yelling when he realized Even was smiling, his eyes alight with playfulness once more. Isak opened his mouth wide in mock outrage. “What the fuck was that for?” 

“Just relax,” Even said jokingly and then had to dodge out of the way as Isak lunged forward to poke him in the side as well. He just narrowly missed, but wasn’t about to give up so soon. When he went in to do it again, however, Even grabbed both of his hands in his and held them tight, rendering them useless. “Isak, stop!” he laughed. “You’re acting like a child.” 

“ _I’m_ acting like a child?” Isak cried, pulling his hands out of Even’s and almost tumbling off of the sunbed in the process. Even was nice enough to grab him by the hip to keep him upright. “ _You’re_ the one who started it!” 

The next thing Isak knew, they were rolling around on his sunbed, each poking the other until they were both squirming around, screaming in a mixture of pain and ticklishness. They were interrupted by the sound of a throat clearing and both stopped moving immediately to see who was there. Isak half expected it to be Sana telling them that this was not what she was paying them for, but instead it was the blonde couple that had been watching them from across the pool. 

“Hi,” the woman said with a smile, taking in the way their limbs were currently entangled like it was somehow indecent. Isak climbed off of Even’s lap, trying to make himself more presentable, and he was surprised to find that pulling away felt just as weird as initiating the touch in the first place. He wasn’t quite sure what that meant. “I’m Vilde,” she continued when they were both facing her once more, Isak’s face flaming hotter than the summer air around them. “And this is Magnus. May we sit?” 

She didn’t actually wait for permission before the two of them sat down on the edge of one of the sunbeds in the cabana next to theirs. “I’m Even,” Even introduced as they got settled. “And this is my husband, Isak.” He emphasized the word “husband” just like he had at the check-in counter the night before and although it was still a bit jarring to hear that word coming out of Even’s mouth in reference to _him_ , what was even more jarring was having Even place his hand on Isak’s knee to pull him closer and then, smooth as can be, kissing him on the cheek. Isak didn’t have to pretend to be affected by it. 

**__**

“Aw,” Magnus cooed, like that was a perfectly normal thing to do to someone you’ve just met. “He’s blushing.” 

Even chuckled deep in his throat and squeezed Isak’s knee, clearly pleased with himself. “So what can we help you with?” 

Vilde started speaking immediately, like she had only been waiting for him to ask. “We couldn’t help but notice your rings—which are gorgeous, by the way—and we were wondering if you might be interested in some fun couple activities.” 

Oh god. Was this really happening? Panicked, Isak turned to Even who somehow managed to keep a straight face. “Such as?” he asked and Vilde took off, listing what sounded like a hundred different activities ranging from Bingo to water skiing as Magnus nodded along to her every word. 

Isak honestly wasn’t sure which was more repugnant: the idea of sleeping with them or the idea of socializing with them. Both seemed like torture and Sana had promised him a vacation, goddammit. 

He tried to school his features into something less overtly hostile, but he must not have been too successful because Even interrupted Vilde’s monologue to ask him to go grab some drinks for the four of them. Isak was more than grateful for the excuse to get away. He would leave Even to the socializing. 

Vilde and Magnus immediately insisted that drinks weren’t necessary—and Isak did worry that feeding them once would only encourage them to come back—but Even waved them off, so Isak began his trek towards the bar where he was fully prepared to order the strongest drink on the menu despite the fact that it wasn’t even noon. He fucking deserved it. 

“Have you two been snorkeling yet?” he heard Even ask as he walked away. “Isak and I are thinking about going.” 

**__**

There was a bit of a line at the bar when Isak got there, but he wasn’t about to complain. The longer it took, the longer he would have to be alone. Curious, he turned back to look at Even only to find that he was already staring at him too. Even from a distance, Isak could tell that Vilde was still talking a mile a minute and it pleased him just a bit that Even was having to pretend to be interested. Isak smirked and, as if Even could see it, he rolled his eyes in reply. 

“Newlyweds?” 

Isak whipped around to find the curly-haired bartender smirking at him as he leaned across the bar. “Huh?” 

“Are you newlyweds?” the bartender repeated, nodding towards Even. “I’m pretty good at picking the honeymooners out. You all have bright, shiny new rings and can’t keep your eyes off of each other for even long enough to order a drink.” Isak blushed. “He’s cute though. Congratulations.” Then, when Isak couldn't think of anything else to say, continued. “What can I get you?” 

Isak relayed a quick order for some mimosas since that seemed more socially acceptable than straight whiskey at ten in the morning and the bartender turned to fill them, making small talk all the while. He was good at the whole socializing thing too, Isak realized. Him and Even would probably get along great. Isak answered his questions about where he was from and what he did with well-practiced lies and it was actually kind of exhilarating to be able to use them. It would have been a waste to memorize two whole packets of information for nothing. 

When the bartender turned back around, he was smiling. “I’m Jonas, by the way,” he said, pointing to his nametag. “Just in case you hadn’t already figured that out.” 

**__**

“Isak,” he replied, pulling the tray of drinks towards him. “And that’s my husband—” He glanced over his shoulder, looking for Even, but was surprised to find that he wasn’t where he had left him. He scanned the pool area, slightly worried about where he’d gotten off to so quickly, but soon found him gathered with Vilde, Magnus, and several other patrons around a young woman who seemed to be in hysterics, crying and pointing at her empty ring finger every couple of seconds. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was happening and Isak cursed his own obliviousness. Eva was there, frantically trying to soothe the crying woman, but it didn’t seem to be working. 

From behind him, Isak heard Jonas groan. “Not this again.” When he turned around, Jonas’s eyes were already mid-roll. 

“People losing their rings?” Isak asked, feigning ignorance. 

Jonas tilted his head as if debating how much to say. “Sure,” he eventually decided. “We’ll go with that.” 

Isak couldn’t help but chuckle. “This happens a lot?” 

“More during honeymoon season,” Jonas grinned, his tone joking. “You people are so finicky about those things. You take them off to swim, to shower. The retirees don’t give a shit. Word of advice?” He asked, reaching out to tap Isak’s ring where his hand was resting on the bar. “Just keep the damn thing on. It looks expensive.” Isak highly doubted that, but he closed his fingers into a fist anyway, feeling strangely protective of the ring. 

“You must have security cameras though?” Isak offered, looking over at the crying woman once more. 

“We do,” Jonas agreed. “But they don’t do us much good when they’re broken. Convenient, huh? Eva keeps trying to fix them, but then they just break again and—between me and you—I don’t actually think she has the money to keep paying for repairs that aren’t working.” Isak turned back around, his brow furrowed in confusion, and he must have looked just a little bit _too_ interested because Jonas squinted at him suspiciously. “I probably shouldn’t be telling you all of this, huh?” he chuckled and Isak relaxed into the joke. 

“I mean,” he shrugged. “I’m pretty sure our deposit was non-refundable, so we’re kinda stuck here regardless.” Jonas laughed and although Isak much preferred him to Vilde and Magnus, he figured it was time to find Even and do some actual detective work. “Thanks for the drinks,” he said, picking up the tray. Jonas nodded his goodbye and then Isak walked back to his cabana and waited for Even to join him. It didn’t take long. 

“Hey,” Even greeted with an exasperated sigh. He sat down next to Isak even though there was an empty sunbed right next to them and reached over to rub his arm like he was reassuring himself that he was still there. “Oh, mimosas.” He grabbed one and finished half of it in one large gulp. 

“What was going on?” Isak asked, nodding towards where the bereaved woman had progressed from tears to yelling. 

“Her rings were stolen out of her bag,” Even said, turning so that he was facing Isak and—more importantly—the pool behind him. He was keeping watch. 

“Did you see anything?” Isak asked. 

“No,” Even groaned. “I was a bit distracted by Mr. and Mrs. Stepford over there.” He nodded towards where Vilde was still consoling the couple and Isak couldn’t help but wonder if she had been sent to distract them on purpose. 

“What’s their deal anyway?” Isak asked. “Who the fuck just goes up to total strangers and asks them to participate in ‘couple activities’?” 

Even laughed. “You left before she started talking about the ‘love exercises.’ It all sounded very pornographic.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, but then rolled his eyes when all Isak did was glare. “I think they were just being nice,” he shrugged. “Like a welcome wagon, of sorts. It sounded like they’d been here for a while. What did you find out from the bartender?” 

“He didn’t seem too surprised.” 

“No,” Even agreed. “Eva didn’t either.” 

Isak told him about the security cameras and Jonas’s theory that the resort was having financial problems, but they both admitted that it wasn’t much to go off of. 

“Can we go back inside?” Isak asked once he finished his re-telling. “At least to let me change. These shorts are chafing.” He pulled them down once more and Even smirked like he was pleased with Isak’s discomfort. 

Even shrugged and then finished the rest of his mimosa before grabbing another and downing that one as well. “What?” he asked when he noticed Isak staring. “Cocktails are like twelve dollars a piece. I’m not wasting company funds like that.” 

Then they both stood, gathered their things, and headed back into the cool, air-conditioned building. The chill made goosebumps erupt on Isak’s arms, but Even was kind enough to throw a towel over his shoulders to keep him warm. And they said chivalry was dead. 

* 

Even was already asleep, his chest rising and falling with each steady breath, but Isak’s thoughts were whirring too fast for him to settle. He looked over at his expensive watch, which hadn’t been touched by the maid, and then, not knowing what else to do, pulled out his phone to do a bit of investigating. 

He didn’t have the last names of any of the employees they had met, but Magnus and Vilde had apparently been _very_ forthcoming in their short conversation with Even, so Isak searched for their Facebook pages to see if anything stood out. They both contained a strange conglomeration of wedding pictures and cat videos—which was, admittedly, weird—but nothing that spoke of any criminal ties. The only curious thing was that both of them were teachers at the same middle school and yet they had chosen to stay at a luxury resort (that Isak himself couldn’t afford) when there was a perfectly nice Holiday Inn right down the street. But still, maybe they were just shit at managing their money. It happened. 

Before Isak shut the app, curiosity had him clicking over to his own profile—his Isak Anderson profile. The one their tech team would have created to help him maintain his cover. His profile picture was one of him laughing as Even smacked a kiss onto his cheek and with a pang of longing, Isak realized that it wasn’t even photoshopped. There _were_ photoshopped pictures, of course—of their “wedding” and “engagement”—but there were enough real ones sprinkled throughout that it made a lump form in Isak’s throat as he mourned what they had lost. 

There was a picture of Even sitting on Isak’s lap during some bar crawl Mutta had dragged them to years ago. Even had his arms wrapped around Isak’s neck playfully and Isak was rolling his eyes. There was another from one of Sana’s birthday parties that showed them sitting so close that it almost looked like they were kissing. There was even one that Isak hadn’t seen before, although he remembered the moment well because it was the first time he had looked at Even and seen forever. In it, the two of them were leaning against the brick wall of the station during an employee picnic, both laughing like there was nowhere in the world they’d rather be than staring into each other’s eyes. 

Isak clicked his phone off with a heavy heart and drifted into a fitful sleep. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This first scene goes into more detail about the events surrounding Mikael’s death. Trigger warnings for gun violence and blood so if you are at all squeamish, feel free to skip the first section.

Isak knew it was a dream, but that didn’t make it any less frightening. It came in flashes, like dreams were wont to do—everything just a blur of red and blue lights and gunshots. The memories were imprinted perfectly in his mind, every single detail carved into his skin like a scar, and no matter how many times he relived those moments in his sleep, it never got easier. 

The crackle of the radio came first, like the calm before the storm. Isak could still hear Mikael’s panicked voice calling for backup and despite the bloodbath that followed, _that_ is what keeps him awake at night. The terror. The uneasiness. The fact that Mikael knew in his last moments that something was wrong, but couldn’t do anything about it. “Fucking hell,” he said, his voice low as he spoke into the radio. “Guys, I don’t know where Elias is. He went to clear the back room, but—” And then, out of nowhere, the sound of gunshots followed by a deafening silence. 

After that, everything happened much too quickly and while his dream fast-forwarded through a lot of it, it never let him forget Even sitting stoic next to him, calling Mikael’s name into the radio with increasing desperation. They were on the scene less than a minute later, bathing the abandoned house in flashing lights, and despite Sana’s warnings not to do anything without backup, Even was out of the car immediately—not even waiting for Isak to put it in park—and Isak didn’t have a choice but to follow him. Not if he wanted to be able to live with himself. 

Even stepped over the threshold, his shoulders hunched and his gun drawn, but he couldn’t clear both sides of the house at once. It was stupid—the whole thing was so monumentally stupid—and the worst part was that Isak couldn’t even hate him for it because afterward, he was too busy hating himself. The gun went off with a bang, hitting Even in the stomach right under his Kevlar vest and as Isak watched him fall to the ground, the world stopped spinning. For a second, he thought that it was him who had been shot—not because of the pain, but because of his absolute certainty that his world was ending. 

After that, everything went quiet, adrenaline rendering him temporarily deaf. It made it easier somehow, to not be able to hear the aftermath. He knew where the perpetrator was because he knew what direction that bullet had come from so he turned, caught sight of the gun pointed in his direction and shot, for the first time in his life, with the intention to kill. One second there was life in the killer’s brown eyes and the next it was just gone, the shell of what remained crumbling to the floor unceremoniously. Isak stared at the empty wall in front of him in shock. The whole thing took maybe thirty seconds from the time when he stepped out of the car. Thirty seconds and his whole life had changed. 

Sounds came back slowly—the whirring of sirens in the distance, the pounding of his blood in his ears—but what finally snapped him out of it was Even’s broken voice saying his name. When Isak turned around, there were two bodies on the floor: Mikael, staring unseeing from across the room, and Even, trying to get to him, leaving a thick trail of blood in his wake. Isak ran to Even and collapsed by his side, his strength spent. He wasn’t a doctor by any means, but he had seen enough bullet wounds in his life to know when someone was dying. _Even_ was dying. There was just too much blood. Isak reached out to hold pressure to the wound and that staunched it a bit, but he could still feel the thick liquid flowing freely over his hands. 

“Even,” he breathed, feeling hopelessly lost, but Even just tried to push him away, his bloodstained fingers digging into Isak’s shirt with a surprising amount of strength. His breath was coming out in rattles and he was begging with everything that he had, the same word, over and over. 

“Mikael, Mikael, Mikael.” 

“Even, he’s gone,” Isak tried, holding him down by the shoulder because the more he moved, the more blood he was losing. 

“No, he’s not!” Even cried, but Isak could see the bullet wound through Mikael’s neck, could tell that it was no longer spewing blood. 

The rest of the memory was drowned in screams and blood and Isak jolted awake to the feel of Even’s heart stopping beneath his fingertips. He remembered reading once that your body would wake you up before you died in dreams because your mind couldn’t comprehend that kind of loss. He wondered what it meant that Even’s death—however brief—was lost to him, even in sleep. 

* 

Even, alive and well, was the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes. He was sitting up in bed, hovering over Isak with his eyebrows furrowed in concern, and more than anything, Isak wanted to reach out and touch him—to convince himself that he was whole and safe and breathing—but that wasn’t exactly a new feeling. Every time he woke up from one of these nightmares, he wanted to find Even, to call him, to make absolutely certain that the nightmare had ended. The only difference was that now he was allowed that small luxury whereas usually he had to ride out the rest of the night just praying that Even would walk into work the next morning, ignoring him as usual. That was what Isak hoped for these days because even apathy was preferable to death. 

Frustrated, Isak pushed Even out of the way and sat, surprised to find that dawn was already upon them. His hair was sticking to his forehead with sweat, so he used the sleeve of his T-shirt to wipe his face clean, hoping that maybe Even wouldn’t notice. If he did, he didn’t say anything, just continued to stare at Isak wide-eyed like he was a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. 

“Sorry,” Isak grumbled, not even sure why he was mad. “It was just a nightmare.” 

He hopped out of bed and began grabbing clothes from his suitcase, wanting to just climb into the shower and wash away the memories of that night. When he turned back around, however, Even was _still_ staring. “What?” he snapped and Even actually flinched. 

“Nothing,” he said, shaking his head. “I just…” He looked down at his lap, but then sighed and met Isak’s gaze once more, his usual bravado gone. “You were saying my name.” 

Isak stiffened but after the first second of surprise, he tried to school his features into indifference while his heart started beating out of his chest. He didn’t want Even to know how much he still affected him, even subconsciously. 

“Like I said,” he muttered, skulking into the bathroom. “Nightmare.” 

* 

When Isak stepped out of the bathroom toweling his hair dry a half hour later, Even wasn’t alone in the room. For one harrowing second, Isak thought Vilde had found them, but then he realized it was only Mahdi, their waiter from the first night, wheeling in a room service cart. He smiled at Isak as he passed and then parked the cart in the middle of the room. 

Even thanked him and then held out some cash for a tip, but when Mahdi reached for it, Isak was distracted by the glint of a gold watch around his wrist. Isak looked towards his bedside table hastily, making sure his own watch was still there—and it was, but damn if that one didn’t look almost identical. Mahdi pocketed the money, smiled at both of them once more, and then left them alone to their breakfast. 

“I got you pancakes,” Even said once he was gone. “With blueberries. Just like you like.” 

Isak, however, wasn’t listening. “Did you see his watch?” he asked. “It was a fucking Rolex.” 

Those words seemed to mean nothing to Even because he just continued to stare. “Okay, so he has a nice watch?” he mused. 

“ _He has a nice watch_?” Isak cried, appalled. “Even, do you know how much a watch like that costs? Ten thousand dollars—minimum.” 

Even balked at the price tag, his gaze traveling to Isak’s watch—which was still out, ripe for the picking—on his bedside table. “Where the fuck did you get _that_ then?” he cried, gesturing towards it wildly like he didn’t even want to be in the same room with something so expensive. 

“It was my grandfather’s,” Isak explained. “He gave it to me before he died.” 

That seemed to calm Even a bit, but he still sat down on the edge of the bed, lost in thought. “Well maybe his was a gift as well,” he shrugged. “Or a fake.” 

Isak rolled his. “That’s a really fucking good fake.” 

“Well, I don’t know, Isak!” Even cried, throwing his arms into the air in exasperation. “What do you want me to say? Yes, it’s weird that he has it, but it’s not illegal. And we can check with Sana, but I’m almost 100% positive there wasn’t a watch that expensive on the stolen inventory list because I didn’t even know watches could _be_ that expensive.” Isak sighed, unwilling to admit that Even was right, but Even seemed to hear his unspoken words anyway. “Here,” he said, standing and taking the silver dome off of their breakfast trays. “Eat your pancakes and stop worrying so much.” 

It was the second morning in a row that Isak had been allowed to eat in peace without the ghost of his and Even’s failed relationship looming over their heads. The silence was easier somehow than the fake conversations and the forced touches. 

“So what are we doing today?” he asked between bites of his breakfast. “You going to drag me back out to the pool for more ‘couple activities’ with Vilde and Magnus?” 

Even chuckled around a sip of his coffee. “No,” he grinned. “I thought we might do something fun instead. You in the mood for some high stakes, high reward sleuthing?” 

Isak had to bite his lip to keep from smiling. “Seriously?” he asked, excitement washing over him as Even nodded, but it didn’t last for long. “We can’t though. Sana would _kill_ us if we got caught. We’re supposed to be keeping a low profile and just observing.” 

“But where’s the fun in that?” Even smiled. He always had been an enabler and his impulsivity didn’t lend well to long missions. Usually, Isak was there to balance him out, but now? He needed something to get his mind off of Even—off of that night. Still, he was hesitant. “I mean,” Even continued in that same wheedling tone. “If you’re too scared…” 

“Fuck you,” Isak snapped, his mind made up for him. “Get dressed. We’re going.” 

Even smirked around another sip of coffee, but didn’t say a word. 

* 

Even was in search of two things: a copy of the guest list and a masterkey. Isak was almost positive they could get both of those off of Emma’s maid cart, but Even wasn’t willing to take the easy way out. “She could get _fired_ for that, Isak,” he argued and no matter how many times Isak rolled his eyes, Even wouldn’t relent. So now they were sitting in the lobby, sipping on cold cups of coffee, waiting for Eva to leave her post at the check-in counter so that Even could work his magic. 

“We’re being ridiculously obvious,” Isak pointed out for the fifth time. 

“Obviously in-love,” Even countered, pulling a pastry out of the bag he had gotten from the coffee shop. He tore off a piece and held it up to Isak lips like he was a baby bird that needed help to stay fed. “Scone?” 

Isak swatted his hand away and Even laughed. “I’m being serious!” 

“So am I!” Even countered. “Just chill. I know what I’m doing.” 

It was less than ten minutes later that Julian the Bellboy stuck his head in the door and gave them the break they’d been looking for. “Eva,” he called desperately. “We need you. _Now_.” 

Eva looked up from the computer, worry already etched into every line on her face. “I’m watching the desk. Can it wait?” 

“No,” Julian said, his eyes wide. “The Bergs are checking out and when I brought their car around from valet—they’re saying there’s a dent in it that wasn’t there before, but I swear it wasn’t me.” 

Eva closed her eyes as if praying for patience but then walked out from behind the counter, leaving the desk unmanned. “Are we talking Honda Civic or Maserati here?” she asked. Julian winced. 

As soon as the front door shut behind them, Isak rounded on Even. “Did you…?” he trailed off, a little impressed. 

Even snorted. “No. But come on, we don’t have much time.” 

He left their second breakfast sitting on the table and dragged Isak by the hand to the counter, which he promptly hopped over, saving himself the two seconds it would have taken to walk around to the side entrance. “Watch the door for me,” he said to Isak and Isak chose not to point out that the front door was not all he had to worry about. There was also an elevator and a door off to the side that led into the breakfast buffet. If they didn’t get caught, it would be a fucking miracle. 

“What are you going to say when she walks in and catches you?” he asked as Even started clicking around, familiarizing himself with what he was looking at. It would probably be smarter not to distract him, but when Isak got nervous, he talked. Even had never seemed to mind before. 

“That I needed to print out our tickets for parasailing this afternoon,” Even shrugged, as if it was just that simple. It worried Isak sometimes just how well he lied. 

“I am _not_ going fucking parasailing with you,” Isak snapped because he honestly couldn’t tell whether Even was being serious. “Unlike you, I _don’t_ have a death wish.” He realized too late the implication of his words, but Even’s typing only paused for a second before he was off again. 

“Isak, do you trust me?” he asked, his eyes still glued to the computer screen. It was a loaded question and Isak honestly wasn’t sure of the answer. He thought about lying, but before he could, Even gave up. “Fine. Then do you at least believe that I am capable of talking myself out of literally any situation I get into?” 

“Yes,” Isak replied without even having to think about it. Even was the most charming person he knew. 

“Good,” Even replied, hitting one last key on the keyboard before looking up at Isak with a smirk as the printer next to him began whirring. 

“You got it?” Isak asked happily. 

“I mean, don’t get too excited,” Even chuckled. “It doesn’t exactly take Mr. Robot to print out a hotel’s guest list.” 

Isak was so distracted watching the painstakingly slow printer do its job that he didn’t even notice the front door had opened until the chatter of voices behind him drew his attention. He whirled around immediately, his hand drifting to where his gun usually was holstered on his hip out of habit, but it was just a family coming in from a morning at the beach. They didn’t look towards the desk once on their way to the elevator. 

“You were supposed to be watching the door,” Even scolded, but there was no heat behind his words. In fact, he was smiling as if he really was having fun. Adrenaline was coursing through Isak’s body, but the pounding of his heartbeat was comforting. It had been a long time since he had felt this alive. 

As the list continued printing ever so slowly, Even began rummaging through the drawers of the desk. Properly chastised for his earlier slip of attention, Isak kept glancing over his shoulder to make sure they were alone. He could see Eva outside in the distance, listening as some large, balding man yelled at her. He figured they still had a bit of time. 

“Anything?” he asked Even after a minute. 

Even shook his head. “I can’t find a master, but—oh, here are the blank cards. We can make one.” He grabbed a card and stood, turning it over to try to figure out which side was up. 

“Even,” Isak argued, looking over his shoulder towards Eva once more. “We don’t have time to figure out how—” 

“No, it’s not hard,” Even corrected, pulling out a machine from the cabinet that looked like a credit card reader. It was already plugged into the computer and with a few more clicks, Even seemed to have opened the program that he needed. “Mikael used to work at a Best Western in high school. I know how to do this.” 

It was the first time Isak had heard Mikael’s name come out of his mouth since the funeral and he said it so casually that he didn’t dare argue. Maybe that had been Even’s intention in the first place. 

“Master, master,” Even muttered to himself, scrolling through a list of options. “Ah ha.” He clicked a few more buttons and then stuck the card in the reader. There was a whirring sound, like the machine was processing something, and then a green light flashed. Even pocketed the card immediately and clicked out of whatever he had opened on the computer. “Here,” he said, passing Isak the guest list, which had finally printed. “Hold this while I…” He trailed off as he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. “Fuck, Eva’s office is back here,” he said, walking out of Isak’s line of sight. 

“Even,” Isak hissed. “We don’t have time to—” Before he could even finish, Even was back, throwing himself over the counter once more. 

“There’s a keypad on the door,” he said, taking Isak’s hand and dragging him back over to where they had been eating breakfast only a few minutes before. Isak followed him in a daze. “We’ll have to come back when we have more time.” 

They sat back down and, casual as can be, Even took another bite of the scone he had tried to feed Isak earlier. When he saw Isak staring, he offered him another bite, but Isak just waved him off. Even shrugged and continued eating. 

“How do you do that?” Isak asked, watching Even carefully for any signs of distress. Isak’s heart still hadn’t slowed and he had no idea how Even was sitting there eating a stale pastry when he felt like he was about to pass out. He usually had tech for his undercover missions—he usually had _plans_. With Even, he was flying blind. 

“Do what?” Even asked, one eyebrow raised. 

“Do _that_ ,” Isak hissed, gesturing towards the counter, which was still empty. 

Even chuckled. “I don’t know, but it’s kind of a high, don’t you think—almost getting caught? It gets your blood pumping.” Isak felt his cheeks heat at the double entendre, even though he was pretty sure Even hadn’t meant it that way. If he noticed, he didn’t mention it, just turned back to Isak, his eyes alight with mischief. “Where to next?” 

* 

Isak had seen a door marked “Employees Only” out by the pool bathrooms the day before and he was determined to get inside. He knew it would be completely asinine to leave stolen goods in your work locker, but if his years in law enforcement had taught him anything, it was that criminals made a lot of dumb mistakes. He knew it was a long shot, but Even agreed readily. Almost _too_ readily, if Isak were being honest. It was like Even was humoring him, but he couldn’t bring himself to care when it was getting him what he wanted. 

Just like they had done in the lobby, they scoped out the pool for about fifteen minutes before making a move. They were both already wearing swimsuits since they figured that was the easiest way to blend in at an oceanside resort and although there were other people out by the pool—including Vilde and Magnus—Even seemed to know how to keep them at bay. 

“Even, I’m not sure if this is—” Isak started, refusing to make eye contact when they were sitting so close together. Even interrupted by reaching out and running his thumb over Isak’s bottom lip, forcing him to look at him. When their eyes met, Even froze and Isak could have sworn he heard his breath hitch in his throat, but that wasn’t possible. After all, this had been Even’s stupid idea. 

Even blinked hard a couple of times and then shook his head. “It’s only for a few minutes,” he argued. “I just...If we don’t constantly look like we’re about to jump each other, Vilde’s going to come back over here and start talking about trivia and cake decorating classes and then we’ll never get away. Five minutes—just to make sure the locker room is empty.” 

They were sharing a sunbed again, Even lounging back against it with Isak sitting next to him, his legs thrown over his lap. They were too close—their faces right next to each other—and Isak’s body was burning, this time from something other than the sun. He sighed, but put aside his discomfort and tried to relax into Even’s arms. He found that the easiest thing to do was just to rest his head on Even’s shoulder because then he didn’t have to look him in the eye. 

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” he confessed, finding himself nearly as nervous as he had been in the lobby earlier. Even’s hand trailed up and down his spine, soothing him, and Isak nuzzled farther into his neck because that seemed like something he might do if Even really were his husband. 

“What do you mean?” Even asked after a few seconds, resting his head on top of Isak’s. 

Isak shrugged. “I don’t know. I just...I don’t know how to act around you anymore,” he confessed, his voice so quiet he wouldn’t be surprised if Even hadn’t heard him at all. The disparity between what they were and what they had been seemed more obvious when they were wrapped in each other’s arms like this. Not because of the sexual tension, but because it made him think of what things would have been like if they had been assigned this case a year ago. They would have been all over each other—teasing, playful, trying to see who could give the other a boner first. It would have been easy. Fun, even. What they had now was something more akin to torture. 

Isak wasn’t quite sure why he did it. Maybe it was because he was thinking about what the old him would have done in this situation or maybe it was just because Even’s neck was right there and Isak had always wanted to taste, but before he could stop himself, he closed his lips around the stubbled skin of Even’s jaw and kissed. 

Even stiffened under him, his fingers bunching into the fabric of Isak’s shirt, but he didn’t push him away, so Isak kissed him again. And again. And when Isak felt Even’s moan vibrate against his tongue, he grew brave, lifting his hand up to cup Even’s cheek and pull him closer. For some unknown reason, Even let him. Isak deepened his kisses, tasting Even’s salty sweat against his tongue. He bit and he sucked and he allowed his hand to drift over Even’s chest, finding that he enjoyed doing to torturing much more than being the one tortured. 

Isak was diving in for more when Even pushed him away, not unkindly. “Wait,” he said. His face was redder than Isak had ever seen it, but once he had Isak’s attention, he nodded across the pool towards the employee in the Paradise-blue Polo shirt that had just slipped out of the building housing the bathrooms and locker room. “I think it’s empty now.” Isak tried not to be offended that Even had been able to focus on anything except Isak’s lips on his neck. “Come on.” 

Knowing that they probably didn’t have much time, Isak climbed off of him and adjusted his shorts to try to hide his boner. It made him feel a little better when Even had to do the same. Before he could be ashamed, Even grabbed his hand and began leading him towards the outhouse. Isak followed dutifully. 

“They’re going to think we’re fucking in here,” Isak said as they stepped into the open-air walkway that had bathrooms on one side and the locker room on the other. 

“Good,” Even smirked. “Then they won’t care when we don’t come back for fifteen minutes.” He pushed the locker room door open without a care in the world, acting as if he was meant to be there. “Hello?” he called into the silence, but the only response was an ominous echo. He waggled his eyebrows at Isak suggestively and then ushered him inside. 

The room was small with just two banks of lockers against the far wall and then a separate bathroom area in the back. Other than that, all the room housed was a card table and two foldable metal chairs. Even grabbed one of the chairs and set it against the door handle to barricade themselves inside. Isak knew it wouldn’t hold long if someone tried to open it, but it would at least give them some warning. 

“You take those, I'll take these?” Isak asked once Even turned back around, so they split up the two locker banks and began searching for anything that looked even the slightest bit suspicious. The lockers had the employees’ names on the outside and most weren’t locked. The ones that were had those cheap Master combination locks that were easy to crack if you knew what you were doing. Within ten minutes, they had dug through them all, finding nothing more interesting than a few condoms and some posters for the club in town where Noora has been abducted three weeks before. 

“No ten thousand dollar watches,” Even noted once they shut the last locker. Isak glared at him. “Look. We tried. Let’s just—” He was interrupted by the sound of the metal chair scooting forward as the door to the locker room was pushed halfway open. 

“What the fuck?” they heard someone mutter from the other side as they gave the door another hard shove. Isak was properly panicking, but Even stayed calm. He threw one glance at the door over his shoulder—as if it were more of a nuisance than anything—and then crossed over to Isak, backing him into the lockers behind him. 

“Just go with it,” he said, cupping Isak’s cheek in his hand. The last thing Isak saw before Even closed the distance between them was the large purple bruise forming on his neck where Isak’s lips had been earlier. Then, without warning, Even was kissing him. 

It wasn’t how Isak had imagined their first kiss when that was still something he wasted his time imagining. It wasn’t soft and sweet and full of love. No, this kiss was another beast entirely. Even was pressed so close to him that he could barely find the space to breathe. It was a hard kiss—unyielding, passionate—and Isak’s first instinct was to push him away because it was too much. With that one kiss, he could feel Even sneaking into the broken crevices of his heart and mending them, but Isak knew that when he pulled away, the whole thing would shatter into pieces again. Still, Isak was nothing if not an opportunist. 

He lifted his hand and grabbed a fistful of Even’s hair, pulling it roughly, wanting him to feel the anger that he had kept bottled inside for much too long. To his surprise, Even moaned in response and then opened his mouth wider, offering Isak more. He put his knee between Isak’s legs and Isak couldn’t help but grind down onto it, his erection from earlier now back as if it had never gone away. So they just stood there, waiting for the fallout, both taking and giving in equal measure until they were nothing more than a breathless tangle of limbs and lips. That was how Jonas found them. 

The metal chair was finally knocked over with a clang and Isak and Even startled apart as if they had just become aware of the interruption. Jonas, who had stepped into the locker room with his thick eyebrows furrowed, took one look at their flushed cheeks and mussed hair and then rolled his eyes. 

“No,” he snapped, jerking his thumb towards the door behind him. “Out. Now. You’ve got your own thousand-dollar-a-night suite. If you need something more exciting, fuck in the hot tub like everyone else.” 

“Shit, sorry,” Even said, running his fingers through the back of his already unsalvageable hair. “There were people in the bathroom, so we thought…” 

“Yeah,” Jonas snorted. “That _is_ how public toilets work.” 

“We were just leaving,” Even decided and Jonas nodded along with his words like he had made the right decision. Even grabbed Isak by the hand and led him out of the locker room, but Isak couldn’t help but turn around to look at Jonas one last time—wanting to apologize with his eyes if not with his mouth. Jonas was looking back at him, smiling now, and he was giving Isak a thumbs up. 

* 

Isak hadn’t recovered from the kiss even hours later. He could still taste it on his tongue, could still see the bruise he had left on Even’s neck, and he was popping inappropriate boners all over the place like he was sixteen again. It was all he could think about—case be damned—and for the first time since arriving at the resort, he regretted coming. He wasn’t sure how he was going to be able to return to his normal life when this was over. How he was going to be able to see Even sitting a couple desks over and just pretend like he _hadn’t_ had his tongue down his throat. Pretend that he hadn’t _enjoyed_ it—that it wasn’t everything he’d always wished it would be. Laying in bed with him now, like they really were an actual fucking married couple, certainly didn’t help. 

“Look at this,” Even said, gesturing Isak over. He held the guest list they had printed between them and he was pouring over it with his reading glasses perched on the tip of his nose. “There’s only two guests that have been here since Noora’s abduction a month ago. Three guesses who.” 

“Vilde and Magnus?” Isak asked, pulling the list closer. Even nodded. “That’s one long ass honeymoon.” 

“Especially for two middle school teachers,” Even agreed. 

“But I...?” Isak started, but couldn’t make sense of what he was trying to say, so he tried again. “How could...? What?” 

Even chuckled. “I have no clue. I’ll email Sana. Get her to do a background check. But in the meantime, we should probably sleep.” Isak hummed but didn’t argue as Even took the papers out of his hands and set them and his glasses on the bedside table. 

Although Isak wasn’t tired at all, he settled back into his pillows, not wanting to keep Even awake when he so obviously wanted to sleep. Once he saw that Isak was comfortable, Even turned off the lamp and then joined him. Isak wasn’t sure whether he was imagining things, but Even seemed to lay closer to him that night. In fact, Isak was sure of it because there, on top of the covers, their pinky fingers were just barely brushing against each other. Even never moved and Isak didn’t either. They fell asleep with their hands still touching. 


	5. Chapter 5

For the first time in a very long while, Isak woke up wrapped in someone else’s arms. He felt safe and warm and loved and that was so unusual for him that it had his eyes startling open instantly, positive that something must be wrong. The suite was bathed in early morning light as birds chirped outside the window and it was exactly how you would want to be woken up on your vacation—soft, slow, in the arms of someone you loved. It was perfect, but it wasn’t real. 

Even’s arm was thrown casually over Isak’s side, spooning him close, and Isak could feel the hard line of his dick pressed against his ass. It was weird to be next to another aroused body after so long without and Isak felt his cheeks heat as desired pooled low in his belly. He’d never known that sympathy boners were a thing, but he was getting hard just knowing that Even already was. 

He tried to pull away to give Even some privacy, knowing that if the roles were reversed, he would be mortified to wake and find that he had trapped Even in his sleep. But Even only pulled him closer when he tried to escape and Isak found that he didn’t have the willpower to fight it. He looked over his shoulder to make sure Even was still sleeping and although he knew that the right thing to do would be to force Even to let him go, it felt nice, so he didn’t. Instead, he reveled in it, pulling Even’s arm around him tighter so that he could trace patterns on the back of his hand, pretending all the while that this was what they could have been if everything hadn’t gone to hell. 

Even stirred at his touch, but it took him a while to properly wake. “Oh, sorry,” he yawned once he realized what was going on. He moved his hips away first and then sat, extricating himself from Isak’s grip. He then stretched his arms above his head, exposing a tanned stripe of skin along his stomach, and looked down at Isak warily, as if he were trying to determine whether he was angry. “You could have pushed me off.” 

Isak rolled over onto his back, but didn’t bother sitting. He shrugged. “I didn’t want to,” he admitted and, to his surprise, Even blushed. 

“I should probably…” Even trailed off, gesturing towards the bathroom. He crawled out of bed with his hands cupped over his still-obvious erection and then retreated to the shower where Isak didn’t even have to use his imagination to picture what exactly he was doing. 

*****

They decided to finally brave the breakfast buffet that morning—probably because being alone in their room was now more daunting than being around other people. There was a tension hanging over them after their kiss that hadn’t been there before. Or, well, a _different kind_ of tension. Whereas before, Isak had been hampered by the memories of what they used to be, now he was more distracted by what they _could_ be—what they _should have been_ if the world was a kinder place. He wasn’t sure which was worse, but he did know that even spending time with Vilde was preferable to figuring it out. 

That theory was put to the test when she and Magnus joined them at their breakfast table fifteen minutes later. 

“Hi,” she said brightly, sitting down across from Isak with a bowl of oatmeal and some fresh fruit. “How are you two doing this morning?” 

To Even’s credit, he only hesitated for a second before moving his plate out of the way so that Magnus could have the other seat. “Hi,” he grinned. “We’re good. What about you?” 

As Vilde dived into a story about how the resort-issued hair dryer wouldn’t work that morning, Even slowly began sidling his chair closer to Isak’s until he was able to rest his hand on his knee, now back in husband-mode. Isak had learned not to flinch away from his touch, but that didn’t stop him from shivering at the white-hot feel of Even’s hand against his bare skin. 

“That’s not why we came here though,” Magnus said with a chuckle after letting Vilde speak for almost a minute straight. Isak forced his attention away from Even and onto him instead. “We came to tell you that you should come to the club in town with us tonight—The Inferno. A lot of people from the resort go. It’s a ton of fun.” 

_Yeah,_ Isak thought. _Until you get kidnapped._

“We were just talking about that,” Even nodded with a squeeze to Isak’s knee. He looked over at him like couples did when they were trying to silently make a decision together. “We’ve been meaning to get out there.” Which was, admittedly, true. It was the site of one of the abductions. They were duty-bound to check it out. 

“I don’t know,” Isak wheedled, just to be contrary. “I’m not a huge fan of—” 

“Oh, no! You’ll love it,” Vilde insisted adamantly, Magnus nodding along beside her. “There’ll be drinks and dancing. It’s super sexy, I promise.” 

“Super sexy” was the exact opposite of what Isak needed, but he had his mouth open to reluctantly agree anyway when Even suddenly looked over at him, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. Isak reeled back in surprise. 

“Are you feeling okay?” Even asked, reaching out to place his hand on Isak’s forehead. Confused, Isak swatted him away. 

“What? No, I’m fine,” he snapped, but Even just rolled his eyes. 

“No, you’re not. Stop trying to be the hero. Just go lay down in the room for a few minutes.” For a second Isak actually thought that Even was trying to give him an easy out from social interaction, but then he kept talking. “There’s some medicine in that blue bag in my suitcase. Take what you need. I don’t want you coming down with some _bug_.” The emphasis on “bug” was what did it. Isak widened his eyes in understanding a second before realizing that he probably shouldn’t have. 

“I’ll be up in a little while,” Even continued, releasing his grip on Isak’s knee. “I just want to hear more about this so-called Inferno first.” He said it jokingly, giving Vilde a playful glare like she had suggested that they go to a sex club or something. She giggled. 

“Oh, yeah,” Isak said, faking a cough. “Maybe you’re right.” He stood and rested his hands on Even’s shoulders as he said a quick goodbye. “See you guys tonight. Maybe.” 

Then he took off towards the elevators, outwardly trying to remain calm even though his heart was already racing with the thrill of espionage. As soon as he was out of sight of the check-in counter, he started running. 

The voice recorder was in a little blue bag in Even’s suitcase—exactly where he said it would be. The master key was already in Isak’s wallet. He double-checked that he had both before rushing out of the room once more. 

Magnus and Vilde were staying in a regular guest room on the fourth floor and when Isak opened the door, he found nothing extraordinary inside. He knew he didn’t have the time to thoroughly excavate the place, but he did do a cursory search for anything suspicious—expensive jewelry, large stacks of cash, weapons. He found nothing so, after making sure that everything was exactly how he left it, he placed the bug on the inside of their lamp shade and then made his escape, leaving no trace behind that he had ever been there at all. 

* 

If there was anything harder than being alone with Even, it was being alone with Even in the dark while the pulsing beat of dance music pounded into your body, rattling your bones and setting your blood on fire until every touch seemed like _more_ and every look stared straight into the most vulnerable parts of you. Needless to say, Isak wasn’t having fun at the club. 

They were settled into a small booth at the back with Vilde and Magnus and while that was torture enough, Even was making things one hundred times worse because he _would not_ stop touching him. It was slowly driving Isak crazy. Every time Even ran his fingers down his arm, Isak thought about how it had felt to be pressed against the cold metal lockers as he kissed him. Every time Even pecked his cheek playfully, Isak could feel the ghost of his erection from that morning and imagined what might have happened if he’d been brave enough to grind into it—to take what he would never be able to have. 

He stood unceremoniously, interrupting Magnus mid-sentence because he needed to get away for a few minutes. He needed to breathe. He needed his body to be his own again. “I’m, uh, going to get another drink,” he said, ignoring the fact that his beer was still half full. “You want anything?” 

Looking slightly lost, Even shook his head. “Do you want me to—?” 

“No,” Isak snapped. “I just…” He sighed when words failed him. “I’ll be right back.” 

He made it all the way to the bar, his brain whirring in overdrive, before realizing that he recognized the bartender. 

“Whoa,” he said, taken aback. “You’re here too.” 

Jonas chuckled and leaned over the counter so that they could hear each other better. “Same management,” he replied, answering Isak’s unasked question. “Plus, do you know what I make in tips a night? You rich people get generous when you’re drunk.” 

“I’m not rich,” Isak said out of habit because for some reason the thought of being compared to the man demanding top-shelf vodka from the bartender next to them made him defensive. 

“No, but your husband is,” Jonas responded and Isak’s surprise must have shown on his face because Jonas rolled his eyes. “What? I know how to google.” 

“You googled me?” Isak asked weakly, not sure whether to be worried or flattered. 

Jonas didn’t even have the decency to act embarrassed. Instead, he smirked. “I guess I owe you a free drink for that one, huh? What’ll it be?” 

Isak wasn’t completely sure because it had been a while since he’d experienced it, but he thought Jonas might be flirting with him. “I should probably get back to my husband,” he replied warily. To his credit, Jonas didn’t even bat an eyelash. 

“Yeah, probably,” he agreed, nodding in Even’s direction. “He looks like he needs rescuing.” 

Isak turned, assuming Jonas was referring to Vilde and Magnus, but instead he saw a tall, dark-haired stranger sitting in the booth next to Even. Vilde and Magnus were nowhere in sight. Isak’s stomach turned. Even from a distance, he could tell that Even wasn’t flirting—he’d been on the receiving end of Even’s flirting enough to know what it looked like—but it didn’t make him feel any better to know that he _could_ be flirting if he wanted to. That he probably _did_ flirt in bars back home when he was off the clock. 

And all of a sudden, Isak was angry again. His anger came in waves. Sometimes it simmered beneath the surface, drowned under guilt and regret, but sometimes it came forward like a hurricane, leaving destruction in its wake. Because deep down Isak knew that he didn’t deserve the burden Even had placed on him—knew that out of everything that had been taken away from him that night over a year ago, the loss of Even hurt the worst and that was the one thing he didn’t have to lose. 

“You know what? Fuck it,” Isak said, turning back to Jonas. “Double shot of whiskey, on the rocks.” 

Jonas’s eyes sparkled like he was impressed by Isak's decision and then he poured the drink, sliding it over to him without a word. Isak downed it in two gulps, enjoying the sharp burn at the back of his throat, and then motioned for Jonas to pour him another, which he finished just as quickly. He didn’t even bother saying goodbye before crossing the room, his eyes glued to Even. 

Even’s disinterest in the guy flirting with him could not be more obvious and yet the asshole persisted, ignoring every cue Even was giving him—including the fact that he was looking over his shoulder every five seconds, searching for Isak. He sighed in relief when he finally found him. 

“Let’s dance,” Isak said once he reached the table, interrupting the stranger mid-sentence. Even’s eyes widened in surprise for only a second before he was sliding out of the booth, eager to get away. Isak took him by the hand and led him to the dance floor. 

“My hero,” Even whispered in his ear and Isak tried not to let the warm touch of his breath distract him. 

“I don’t want to talk,” Isak snapped, his brain already starting to feel fuzzy from the alcohol. “I want to dance.” 

“ _You_ want to dance?” Even laughed. “Isak, you hate dancing.” 

“Fuck you. You don’t know what I like.” 

“Fine,” Even said, rolling his eyes. “Then let’s dance.” 

The dance floor was packed, forcing them to stand close, but Isak didn’t mind. He wanted to feel Even’s heart beating against his. Wanted to look in his blue eyes and remember the people they had been before. He rested his hands on Even’s chest, reminding himself that for these few moments Even was as much his as he would ever be, and then slowly trailed them upward to wrap around his neck. 

“Isak,” Even breathed, placing his own hands on Isak’s hips. He looked like he didn’t know whether to pull him closer or push him away, but he settled for gripping Isak’s jeans tightly and moving the two of them in time to the beat of the music. 

It was dance music playing—all bass with an upbeat tempo—but Isak wasn’t feeling it, so he slowed Even down and pulled him closer until he could feel every dirty little grind between them. The alcohol was making him brave and he didn’t break eye contact even once, enjoying the way Even’s mouth was hanging open and his eyes were darkening by the second. 

“What are we doing?” Even asked. He had to yell to be heard over the music, but he still managed to sound vulnerable somehow. 

Isak shrugged because he truly didn’t know. “We’re dancing.” 

His gaze drifted down from Even’s eyes to his chapped lips and he got the sudden overwhelming urge to kiss him again. Just once more for show and then maybe he’d be able to move on with his life. Maybe he’d be able to forget what it felt like to be held in Even’s arms, safe and protected. And even though Isak knew he was being unfair—knew that he wasn’t giving Even the option to say no—he lunged forward and pressed their lips together hard. 

Even let out a surprised sound against Isak’s mouth and although he didn’t push him away, he didn’t exactly return the kiss either, but he _did_ grip Isak’s hips infinitesimally tighter like he never wanted to let go. Still, he was just there, a passive participant, and it angered Isak so much that he pulled away almost immediately. 

“Isak,” Even warned, grabbing his wrist to keep him from running. “You’re drunk.” 

Isak rolled his eyes. “What’re you gonna do?” he slurred. “Tell Sana?” 

“What?” Even asked, confused. “No, I don’t care about that. I just mean—” 

Isak didn’t hear the rest of what he said because at the sound of Even’s voice, his stomach roiled uncomfortably. Fuck. What had he just done? His brain was getting fuzzier by the second and his thoughts were refusing to align into anything that made sense. All he knew was that he had to get outside. Now. 

He ran out of the club with his hand clamped tightly over his mouth, but as soon as he reached the grass outside, his body finally decided it had had enough. He heaved uncontrollably, emptying the contents of his stomach onto the sidewalk, and even Even’s hand on his shoulder didn’t help him feel better. He brushed it off and prayed that sleep would claim him soon. 

* 

The drive back to the resort was a blur. Isak’s whole face was flushed, so he tried to rest it against the window as Even drove their rental car, but it turned out that a jostling car window wasn’t the best fix for an already queasy stomach. Isak was eventually able to drift off, however, by using his seatbelt as a pillow. He dreamt that Even brushed his sweaty hair off of his forehead as he slept. 

The next thing he knew, Even was unfastening his seatbelt and trying to pull him out of the passenger side of their car. Isak shook him off, but when he tried to stand himself, he found that he needed the support. Even was thankfully there to catch him. 

“You know what?” Isak asked as Even dragged him along. They stepped into the building and Isak paused what was sure to be an epic rant to blink away the bright lights. “You fucking suck.” 

Even chuckled. “Yeah, I know. Come on. Just a few more feet.” They reached the elevator and Even pushed the button for the second floor with some difficulty since he was still holding up most of Isak’s weight. Isak tried to wriggle out of his grasp and sit on the floor instead, but Even wouldn’t let him. “No, you don’t,” he said. “If you go down, I’m not going to be able to pick you back up.” 

Isak grumbled his displeasure. “You make me so fucking mad,” he said. “I _hate_ you sometimes and I hate that I hate you because I used to love you, you know? What the fuck happened to us, Even?” He tilted his head up, honestly seeking answers, but Even just frowned and refused to say anything. The elevator dinged before Isak could get properly mad at the rebuff and then Even was leading him down the hallway once more, shuffling him around so that he could pull the key out of his pocket. It wasn’t until they were locked safely inside their room that Isak was finally allowed to collapse to the floor. 

“I’m going to run you a shower,” Even said matter-of-factly, “because you smell disgusting and I’m not letting you in bed like that.” 

He dropped his keys on the counter and then went into the bathroom to turn the shower on. Isak could see him testing the water temperature from where he was sitting on the floor and, determined not to be a damsel in distress, he forced himself to stand and join him in the bathroom. He was a bit dizzy, but it wasn’t far and he was able to sit down on the toilet once he got there. 

“You good?” Even asked, looking at Isak over his shoulder. “You’re not going to drown if I leave you alone in here, are you?” Isak flipped him off and then pulled his knees up to his chest to try to block out the harsh fluorescent lights above them. 

Once the water was warm, Even helped Isak kick off his shoes and unbutton his jeans, but everything else he was able to do for himself. He then shooed Even from the room and climbed into the shower on his own, letting the warm water wash over him, cleansing him of his horrible night. He quickly found, however, that all that was doing was putting him to sleep, so he steeled himself for pain and then reached out to turn the shower knob so that he could douse himself in cold water instead. It was far less fun, but far more effective. 

Isak washed quickly and then made his escape, feeling more alert than he had in days. He toweled himself dry, changed into the pajamas Even had laid out for him, and then walked back into the main room, scared of what he would find. 

**__**

Even was laying on the bed, a book opened on his lap, and the tension hung heavy in the air between them. Isak’s brain was still running a bit slow, but his thoughts weren't foggy anymore. He remembered what he had said to Even in the elevator—remembered what he had _done_ to him at the club—and he didn’t want to leave it like that. He wanted the answer that Even had refused to give him earlier. He wanted to know what the fuck had happened to them because the hole in his heart was only growing bigger by the day and he worried that soon it was going to get too large to ever be able to fill again. 

So, his heart in his throat, he prepared to broach the conversation they should have had a year ago. He wasn’t interested in fighting or placing blame. All he wanted to do was apologize. 

**__**

“I’m sorry about Mikael,” he said and it was as if his words were as loud as gunshots in the small room because Even flinched and looked up from his book like Isak had shot him. “I would trade places with him if I could,” he continued, refusing to break eye contact no matter how badly he wanted to. “I would give him back to you.” 

“Isak,” Even started, sitting straight up in bed and setting his book aside. “That’s not what I—” 

“No, just listen to me or I’m not going to be able to get this out,” Isak interrupted, waving him off. Even swallowed hard, his eyes wide like he was scared of what Isak might say next, but he did as asked and settled back to listen. “I get that you want someone to blame and I’m happy to be that person if that’s what you truly need, but I’m not going to apologize for saving your life. Mikael was already dead—or, I don’t know,” he waffled, starting to second-guess everything he knew with Even staring at him like that. “If he wasn’t, he was too far gone to save. I made a judgement call and I know you think that I’m just some dumb kid and I don’t understand, but I do. Because on the same night you lost your best friend, I lost mine. And I know it’s not the same—I’m not trying to say that it is—but it still _hurts._ So goddamn bad. Mikael’s gone and you’re mourning him and I get that, but _you’re_ still here and not being able to talk to you is killing me.” 

Even’s face was broken in a way Isak hadn’t seen since he was bleeding out on the floor of an abandoned hovel and he wanted more than anything to be able to stop talking—to end his pain—because that face was part of the worst day of Isak’s life. He wasn’t done though. He still had things to say. 

He let the anger and frustration leak out of his voice and when he spoke again, he was pleading to the parts of Even that used to love him. “Do you know how much it hurt to show up to the hospital, still covered in your blood, and be told that you didn’t want to see me? I didn’t even know if you were alive, Even, and I’d just _killed_ someone. I—” His voice broke as he tried to finish his thought, so he paused to compose himself. “I was in free fall,” he shrugged after a minute. “And I trusted you to catch me, but you weren’t there. So whatever the fuck I did, I’m sorry. I don’t know if things can ever be _normal_ for us again, but I would settle for complacency over outright hostility any day.” 

Even didn't say anything, just stared, his mouth open in shock. He was still sitting on the bed while Isak stood and it felt weird, so Isak broke eye contact for the first time since he came out of the bathroom, tossed his alcohol-stained clothes on top of his suitcase, and then sat on the foot of the bed, far enough away that Even wouldn’t feel crowded. 

“I don’t want to be _complacent_ ,” Even spat out once Isak was settled and for a second he thought Even was actually advocating for outright hostility, but then he leaned forward and put his hand on Isak’s arm, touching him of his own accord for the first time in a year. Isak shivered and he felt a lump of emotion rising in his throat. He hadn’t realized how touch-starved he was—how desperate for affection that wasn’t mandated by a fake marriage. “Mikael’s gone,” Even said, his voice soft. “You’re all I have left. I want things to go back to the way they were before, I just don’t know how to get there. Not after all the shit I put you through.” 

Isak looked up into his eyes and found that they were sparkling with unshed tears. He swallowed his own emotions down but couldn’t find his voice to speak, so he just leaned into Even’s touch, letting him know it was okay to continue. 

“Isak, none of this is your fault,” he said adamantly, squeezing his arm for emphasis. “I’ve never blamed you. I wasn’t even mad in the beginning, I was just ashamed. That’s why I wouldn’t let you into my hospital room—I was punishing myself. You were the only thing I knew that could make me feel better and I didn’t deserve to feel better. I fucked up and it cost me the two best things in my life. I mean, _fuck._ Mikael might still be alive if I hadn’t—” 

“Even, Mikael was dead when we got there,” Isak reiterated. “There was nothing either of us could have done.” 

Even started shaking his head long before Isak finished speaking and he dropped his eyes into his lap like he really was too ashamed to go on. 

“He wasn’t,” he said eventually, but he didn’t look up. He _did_ , however, withdraw his hand from Isak’s arm like he was punishing himself all over again, but Isak wasn’t having it this time. He crawled onto the bed properly, pushing pillows aside so that he could sit right next to Even and rest his hands on his knees to give him the strength he should have been able to give months ago. 

“He wasn’t dead,” Even repeated, his voice thick, and he sounded so sure of it that Isak had no choice but to believe him. “He was still conscious when I got shot and I saw the look on his face when I started bleeding out—saw how fucking scared he was that I was going to die right there next to him—and that’s what keeps me awake at night. The fact that he died worrying about me. That I couldn’t even bring him peace in his final moments—” 

He broke off, a single tear falling down his cheek. He wiped it away angrily. “God, I should have just waited for you,” he sighed and it was clearly something he’d thought about a lot. “If I’d followed the fucking protocol, maybe he would still be alive. I could have gotten to him faster, stopped the bleeding. At the very least I could have fucking held him. No one deserves to die alone on a dirty floor in a drug den—least of all him—and _fuck.”_ He had to stop talking again as his tears began falling faster. 

“Even, it’s fine,” Isak said. “We don’t have to rehash all of this now.” 

“No, I know,” Even said, using his sleeve to dry his eyes. “I just— _I’m_ the one that should be apologizing. I was so fucking reckless and the thing that scares me the most is that _my_ recklessness could have cost _you_ your life. I dream about that sometimes, you know? You lying dead on that floor right next to Mikael. That would have ended me.” 

“Even,” Isak said, reaching out to take both of his hands in his. “It’s okay.” 

“No,” Even sighed, shaking his head. “It’s not. And I’m _so_ sorry. For not listening to you, for putting you in the position where you had to shoot that bastard. God, Isak, I _know_ that’s the one thing you always dreaded and then I wasn’t even there—” 

“Even,” Isak interrupted, not unkindly. “It’s late, I’m still half-drunk, and I don’t want to talk about that tonight.” Even looked up at him, his eyes shining, and nodded. “I just want to sleep. Can we do that?” 

When Even didn’t argue, he wriggled under the covers and curled up on his side, facing Even. Sharing a bed didn’t feel like torture anymore. It felt comforting—like he had finally found his way home after a long time away. Even turned off the light and then lay down next to him, his eyes never leaving Isak’s. 

“Good night,” Isak said, but it felt like he was saying more. It was an apology and an acceptance all in one—a promise that things would be better in the morning. 

“Good night,” Even agreed, but he just kept staring at Isak like there was something so fascinating about him that he couldn’t look away. He was still staring as Isak’s eyes began drifting shut and when Isak finally fell asleep, he once again dreamed about the feel of Even’s fingers running through his hair and a soft, whispered “I’m sorry.” 


	6. Chapter 6

Isak awoke slowly, as if he were being pulled up from the depths of a great ocean. Without even opening his eyes he could tell that the sun was shining, but he was much too hungover to face it, so he groaned and curled deeper into the body next to him, determined to hide from the daylight. He wanted to go back to sleep, but the sound of Even’s soft laughter above him had his heart leaping for joy in his chest and suddenly, he was wide awake. He could feel his lips already pulling up into a smile and Even must have seen it too because he reached out and scratched the top of Isak's head lightly before leaving him to his splitting headache once more. Isak grinned into the soft fabric of Even’s pajamas, but still didn’t open his eyes, wanting to stay lost in this fantasy forever. 

Eventually, however, he was forced to face reality. He rolled over onto his back and blinked awake to find Even already staring down at him fondly. Isak couldn’t help it—his face erupted into a huge smile, overjoyed that last night hadn’t been some sick dream sent to taunt him. It was real. _This_ was real. 

Even shook his head like Isak was being ridiculous, but when he turned back to the laptop opened in front of him, he was smiling just as widely. “Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” he greeted. 

Isak lay back and watched Even work in awestruck silence, basking in the way his cheeks grew pink under the attention. Even looked over several times, trying to shoo Isak away, but Isak refused to be shooed. It was all very domestic—just like it had always been between them—and Isak wondered if it could really be that easy. If they could really get back to this so fast. 

A good five minutes had passed before Isak thought to ask Even what he was doing. Even pulled one of his earbuds out of his ear and gave Isak a weary shrug. “I don’t even know anymore,” he sighed. 

Isak sat, suddenly curious. “Are you listening to the tapes from Vilde and Magnus’s room?” he asked, reaching for the earbud Even had dropped, but by the time he put it to his own ear, Even had already silenced the program. “Did you find anything?” Their background check had come back clean, but something still didn’t sit right with Isak. They were just too friendly. 

“Nothing diabolical,” Even replied, closing the laptop and setting the whole thing down on the floor. He turned to face Isak and they were suddenly very close, sitting right next to each other with their knees touching. It was a stupid thing to get excited about, but Isak found that he was excited nonetheless. “I mean, not unless you count some weird pillow talk. A lot of cat noises, strangely.” 

Isak snorted. “Please tell me you did not listen to them having sex?” 

“No,” Even laughed. “I fast-forwarded through all three minutes of that. They’re thinking about trying anal, though—just in case you were interested—and Magnus wants to ask our opinion, but Vilde thinks that might be homophobic.” 

“What the fuck?” Isak cried, eyes wide. “Please tell me she knows that’s not appropriate dinner conversation?” 

Even just shrugged. “Jury’s still out, but I’ll keep you posted.” Isak rolled his eyes and as he did, he caught sight of the alarm clock sitting on the bedside table. 

“Shit! Is it really almost noon?” he asked, leaning over Even to make sure he was seeing the time correctly. “Why didn’t you wake me?” He shook Even’s shoulders playfully, pretending that he was mad, and Even laughed. 

“You needed to sleep,” he argued. 

“Yeah,” Isak agreed, “but we’re supposed to be working. This isn’t _actually_ a vacation.” 

“I was working enough for both of us,” Even shrugged. “Plus, you would have done more harm than good with a hangover.” That was probably true, but Isak didn’t want to be a burden. 

“Sorry about that, by the way,” he sighed, collapsing back against the pillows. To his surprise, Even laid down beside him, curiosity sparkling in his bright blue eyes. “About getting drunk. I was just…” He thought about lying, but he couldn’t bring himself to actually do it. Not after the breakthrough they had had the night before. “Jealous, I think,” he finished, lowering his eyes sheepishly. 

“Of what?” Even laughed. 

Isak turned to him, his eyebrows raised. “What do you think? That guy that was flirting with you.” 

“ _That guy_ —Isak, are you fucking kidding me?” Even said. “I had been trying to get your attention for five minutes. Some fucking backup you were. If you hadn’t been so busy flirting with that damn bartender—” 

“Shut up,” Isak said, blushing. “I was not.” 

Even hummed doubtfully, but there was a teasing smile on his face. Slowly, however, that smile faded. “Something’s off about him,” he said. “I don’t know what it is, but I don’t like him.” 

“What? No, he’s nice,” Isak argued and Even wasted no time rolling his eyes. 

“You only think that because he’s flirting with you.” 

“He is not,” Isak whined, kicking out with his leg to hit Even in the shin beneath the covers. Even kicked back, much to Isak’s chagrin. “Don’t say that. He’s just trying to get good tips. He flirts with everybody.” 

Even tilted his head and pursed his lips like he didn’t believe a word Isak was saying. “Every time I see him, he just asks me about you,” he countered and Isak felt his blush darken. 

“Well, _I_ wasn’t flirting with _him_ ,” Isak assured him, burrowing into his pillow. Even narrowed his eyes, trying to suss out a lie. “I seriously wasn’t,” he continued. “I wouldn’t do that.” Even smiled fondly and Isak knew that he believed him. 

“I wouldn’t do that to you either,” Even whispered. He reached out and ran a thumb over Isak’s eyebrow like he was smoothing it down. When he pulled away, Isak chased his touch, so Even brought it back with a smile, resting his hand on the pillow beside Isak’s head so that he could play with his curls. 

They lay there getting lost in each other’s eyes and for the first time in a long time, Isak felt truly happy. “Does this feel weird to you?” he asked after a little while. “Are we moving too fast?” 

Even sighed and his hand stilled atop Isak’s head. “I have no clue,” he admitted. “But what I do know is that this is the most normal I’ve felt in a year. I feel like myself again.” 

Isak felt like himself again too. He felt like the person he had been _before_ Mikael died—before he had killed someone. Months of therapy had only put a bandage on the broken parts inside of him, but lying in bed with Even, he felt young and innocent and carefree and it scared him to death that Even was the one that had flipped that switch inside of him and helped his mind heal. He felt like himself because Even was his heart and now, after a year, he could finally feel it beating inside of him again. 

“Let’s just take it one day at a time,” he whispered, scared to speak too loud in case it shattered their fragile new world apart. 

“That’s chill,” Even decided, his hand starting to move in Isak’s hair once more. “And today I just want to get to know you again. The real you. Not Isak Fucking Andersen.” 

“You already know me though,” Isak pointed out. “You know me better than anybody.” 

Even was quiet for a long time, looking at Isak with eyes full of wonder. “Still?” he eventually asked, his voice impossibly hopeful, and although Isak knew he shouldn’t give Even that kind of power over him, he trusted him with it. 

“Still,” he agreed and moved forward, forcing Even onto his back so that he could lay on his chest and listen to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, assuring himself with every thump that he was alive—that that bullet hadn’t killed him. Even’s laugh vibrated against Isak’s ear and it felt so good to hear it again that Isak couldn’t help the bashful smile he buried in Even’s T-shirt. 

When they had come to this place, it was like the air around them was full of smog. Isak couldn’t see—he couldn’t breathe. Now, finally, the smog had cleared and in front of him was a bright blue sky without even a cloud in sight. 

* 

**__**

They didn’t come out of their room until dinner and even then it was only because they couldn’t justify spending a whole day in bed when there was work to do. Still, they weren’t quite ready to brave the club two nights in a row, so they settled for eating in the main dining area, hoping some of the staff would be there to spy on. They had barely taken two steps into the room before Magnus and Vilde spotted them and waved them over to their table. 

“Do they even _like_ each other?” Isak hissed, pulling Even closer so that he could whisper in his ear. “Why do they want to spend their honeymoon with _us_?” 

Even huffed out a laugh. “Well, who else is going to give them advice on anal sex, Isak?” Isak was not amused. 

“Don’t even put that out into the world or I swear to God…” 

Despite Isak’s protests, they did join Vilde and Magnus at their table because for better or worse, Vilde was a gossip and that was what they needed now that their investigation had seemingly hit a dead end. 

“It’s so nice of you to join us!” she smiled as they sat and Isak had to clench his fists at his sides to keep from rolling his eyes. 

“Nice to be here,” Even returned, pleasant as always. He reached across the table for the pitcher of water and poured both himself and Isak a glass. “What did you two do today?” 

Magnus started talking immediately about the glass-bottom boat tour they had gone on, but Isak wasn’t listening. He had plenty of practice tuning out Vilde and Magnus’s ramblings—especially since he had taken the second shift at listening to their tapes from the night before. Instead, he found himself staring down at the ring that was still wrapped tightly around his finger. It had felt like a vice when he first put it on, but he was growing used to it now. It was even a comfort at times. A reminder that even if he couldn’t see him, Even was still there. He twisted it back and forth on his finger, enjoying the way the bright lights above them glinted off of it. 

“Are you used to the weight of it yet?” Vilde asked, interrupting his thoughts. Isak looked up in surprise to find her smiling across the table at him as Magnus and Even continued chatting. “Your ring?” she prompted when Isak just continued to stare. “I’m still getting used to mine.” She looked down at her own small diamond and twisted it in much the same way Isak was twisting his. He wondered if he too had that dopey look of happiness on his face. 

“I’m starting to,” he admitted, looking over at Even, and although Even didn’t seem to have any idea what they were talking about, he smiled at Isak like he was in full agreement. Isak’s heart sang. 

“You two should sign up for the Newlywed Game,” Vilde decided and that, at least, seemed to grab Even’s attention. 

“The what now?” he laughed. 

“Oh, dude, she’s totally right!” Magnus agreed. “They play the Newlywed Game here every night after dinner. Two couples go against each other to see who knows each other better and the winner gets a free couple’s massage.” 

“I don’t think we—” Isak started because there was no way in hell he was subjecting himself to that kind of humiliation, but Even, as usual, broke in with a more measured response. 

“Well now, that wouldn’t be fair to the rest of you, would it?” he smirked, throwing his arm over Isak’s shoulder and pulling him close. Isak let himself be tucked into Even’s side and felt his slight panic at the thought of playing that game evaporate. He was surprised to find that Even’s touch felt different now. It was lighter—more familiar—and never drifted anywhere close to being inappropriate. He didn’t touch Isak’s neck or his knee despite having touched them multiple times already over the course of the week. It was like they had backtracked, but in the best way. They had found their way back to the people they were before and although they hadn’t talked about it, Isak knew there would be no more kissing. Not as the Andersens, at least. That facade was gone and the genuine love and trust left between them was enough to carry out their cover. What they were doing now was very real. It set loose a flutter of butterflies in his stomach. 

“No, silly,” Vilde said, waving him off. “They ask questions that you wouldn’t just know the answers to. Like, Isak: If Even could only watch one movie for the rest of his life, what would it be?” 

Isak and Even answered simultaneously, “ _Romeo + Juliet_.” 

“The Baz Luhrmann version,” Even elaborated unnecessarily. 

Vilde blinked owlishly up at them, but then tried again. “Okay then, Even: If you gave Isak a pass to sleep with one celebrity, who would he choose?” 

Isak groaned immediately, burying his face in his hands because he _knew_ Even knew the right answer. He had gotten terribly drunk the night Even made him watch _The Notebook_ and waxed poetic about Ryan Gosling’s abs for a good fifteen minutes before Even finally made him shut up. His face burned at the memory. 

“Okay, first of all,” Even replied matter-of-factly, “I absolutely do _not_ give you permission to sleep with anyone else. And second of all, it’s Ryan Gosling.” 

“Yours is Leonardo DiCaprio,” Isak interjected, finally looking up from his hands. “So you have no room to judge.” 

“I’m not judging you!” Even said through his smile, but Isak didn’t believe him. He rolled his eyes and turned back to his “husband,” but at that moment, as they silently shared the memories and the laughter, the relationship between them—no matter how fake—felt very real. Isak could see himself joking like this with Even on a real honeymoon someday and he wasn’t quite sure what to feel about that, so he looked away, trying unsuccessfully to wipe the smile off of his face. 

“What the fuck?!” Magnus cried, clearly amused. “How long have you two known each other?” 

“Um,” Even grinned, finally tearing his gaze away from Isak. “Almost four years now?” 

“What the fuck?!” Magnus repeated, like the concept of being together for four years was truly mind-boggling. Isak worried for the longevity of his marriage. “Has the sex not gotten boring?” 

Isak had chosen the wrong moment to take a sip of his water and promptly started choking. Even massaged his back, trying to soothe him, but didn’t seem to have an answer to Magnus’s question either. He just sat there with his mouth held open, his face the picture of confusion. 

“Oh!” Vilde said, drawing their attention to her instead. For a second, Isak thought she was going to tell Magnus that that wasn’t the type of thing you could ask in polite company, but she, of course, did not. “That _is_ one of the questions they always ask: What’s your partner’s favorite sex position?” And then she sat there, head tilted, waiting for an answer. 

At a loss for words, Isak turned to Even only to find him hopelessly staring back, his cheeks red. It was ironic that this, of all things, was going to be what broke their cover. 

“That kinky, huh?” Magnus jumped in across from them and Isak sighed in relief. Never in his life had he been more relieved for an inappropriate comment. “Oh, that reminds me. Vilde and I were wondering if you had any advice about—” 

“We should probably go grab a plate,” Even interrupted, pulling Isak out of his chair under the pretense of leading him towards the lavish buffet across the room. “We’ll be right back.” 

“I am not going back over there,” Isak hissed as soon as they were out of earshot. “You can’t make me.” 

Even rolled his eyes. “Stop being a baby. Look, there’s something I need you to do for me.” They had reached the salad bar and he continued to talk in a low voice as they piled their plates high with greens. “Do you see Eva over at the hostess stand? She’s been there since we walked in. I think she’s overseeing the dinner service tonight.” 

Isak looked over his shoulder and sure enough, Eva was standing there smiling as a steady stream of couples arrived for their meal. “Okay,” he said. “So what?” 

“So…” Even continued, drawing out the word. “That means her office is empty.” Suddenly, Isak was a lot more interested in this conversation. “I want to break in.” 

“Yeah,” Isak agreed immediately. “We’ll have to ditch the Wonder Twins over there, but—” 

“No, Isak,” Even corrected, looking up as he added a dollop of ranch dressing to his salad. “ _I_ want to break in. One of us has to stay here and keep a lookout and I’m better with technology than you. Plus, I’ve got Mutta on speed dial if I need help.” 

Isak’s mouth fell open in shocked disappointment. “So you’re just going to leave me here? With _them_?” He gestured wildly to the table Vilde and Magnus were still sitting at and Even winced. “They want to talk about anal sex, Even, and I haven’t even had a glass of wine yet.” 

Even shook his head, clearly amused. “You’ll live,” he said, resigning Isak to his fate. “With any luck, you’ll only have to stall for ten minutes and if all else fails, just tell them to use plenty of lube.” He kissed Isak roughly on the cheek and then walked back over to their table to set his salad down, quickly telling Vilde and Magnus he would be right back before walking out the door like a panther on the prowl. Isak hated that he found it sexy. 

He sighed, exhaling all of his frustrations, and then took as long as possible at the buffet, sifting through the individual pieces of fish until he found one cooked exactly to his liking. Still, it only took him a couple of minutes before he was forced to make his way back to Vilde and Magnus, who were both watching him with eager smiles on their faces. When Jonas intercepted him halfway back to his table, Isak could have kissed him. 

“You look like you could use a beer,” Jonas greeted, passing him a cold bottle. 

Isak smiled. “You have no idea, man. I would tip you, but…” He trailed off, looking down at his pocket where his wallet was, but having no hands to pull it out. 

Jonas chuckled. “It’s fine. I get bored behind the bar.” He looked over his shoulder towards Isak’s table and then furrowed his brows in confusion. “Where’d your husband go? I was going to bring him something too.” 

“Oh,” Isak said, following his gaze. Vilde and Magnus quickly turned away when he caught them staring. “He just ran to the bathroom. He’ll be back in a minute.” 

Jonas hummed thoughtfully. “Trouble in paradise?” he asked. "I couldn't help but notice you storming out of the club last night." Isak thought back to what Even had said earlier and wondered if Jonas's concern was disingenuous. 

“No, no,” Isak assured him. “Nothing like that. I just, um, get a bit jealous sometimes. But I actually think he finds it flattering, so…” 

“Oh, well that’s good,” Jonas smiled and he honestly seemed to mean it. “You wouldn’t believe how many couples we see implode on their honeymoon. I was just telling—” 

They were interrupted by Eva’s sharp voice calling through the dining room. “Jonas,” she hissed and when they turned, she nodded her head towards the bar pointedly. 

“Oops,” Jonas grinned. “I should probably…” 

“Yeah,” Isak agreed. “See you around.” Jonas raised his eyebrows in farewell and then took off towards the bar without turning to look at Isak once. Isak watched him go, feeling even more confused than he had been the night before. Even was right. There was something... _off_ about him. 

His thoughts were firing in all different directions and he needed someone to bounce them off of before they disappeared entirely. He hadn’t even made it back to his table yet and he had already decided to leave. “Hey, guys,” he greeted Vilde and Magnus as he set his food down next to Even’s salad. “I’ve also got to…” He gestured vaguely towards the door Even had disappeared out of, not wanting to make up a lie and arouse suspicion if it wasn’t the same one Even had given them. “Um, yeah. I’ll be right back.” 

He double-checked to make sure Eva was still busy with hotel guests and then followed Even’s path out of the dining room. The lobby was thankfully empty when Isak got there, so he hopped over the counter just as Even had done a few days prior and then wandered behind the desk where he found a door marked “Manager.” It was shut and the keypad outside indicated that it was locked, but when Isak pressed his ear to the wood, he could hear clicking from the other side. He knocked and the clicking abruptly stopped. 

“Even, it’s me,” he said just loud enough to be heard. “Let me in.” 

He heard a frustrated huff followed by footsteps and finally the door was pulled open. “Isak,” he whined. “You’re supposed to be keeping a lookout.” Isak brushed past him into the room and went over to the desk to see if Even was making any progress on the computer. Even pushed him out of the way so he could sit back down and continue what he was doing. 

“You left me alone with Vilde and Magnus,” Isak argued. “What did you expect?” 

“Pretty much this,” Even admitted, clicking back onto what he had been looking at before. It was a folder full of financial documents that Isak couldn’t make any sense of. 

“Are you sending these to Mutta?” he asked and Even nodded towards the flash drive that was already plugged into the desktop. 

“They’re downloading now.” He turned to try to say something to Isak, but Isak was bent so close to him that he almost smacked their heads together. “Can you please—” Even started, pushing him away. Isak laughed, but went willingly. “Make yourself useful? Go look through those filing cabinets or something. I don’t even really know what we’re looking for.” 

The filing cabinets were locked, but they were also old. Isak grabbed a paperclip out of the dish on Eva’s desk and made quick work of popping the lock. It was packed full of official looking documents and, like Even had said, Isak had no idea what was important and what wasn’t. He snapped pictures of anything that looked like it might be useful. 

“Jonas stopped me in the dining room,” Isak said as they worked. It took Even a few seconds to comprehend what Isak was saying, but when he did, he looked up at him and frowned. 

“What did he want?” 

Isak shrugged. “I don’t know. He gave me a free drink and then started asking about you.” 

“You didn’t drink it, did you?!” 

“What? No. Why?” Isak stopped what he was doing, surprised at the vehemence in Even’s voice. 

“I just don’t trust him,” Even muttered, turning back to the computer screen. “Don’t you think it’s a bit convenient that he’s the fucking bartender and people keep getting drugged? I don’t like it.” 

Isak thought about it, but he didn’t have a good answer, so he turned back to the filing cabinet. “The cap was still on the beer,” he said, “but I get what you’re saying.” 

They worked in silence for a few more minutes, Even clicking and Isak shuffling through papers. He stuck his head out the door a few times, checking to make sure the coast was still clear, but overall it was boring work. His mind started to wander back to their conversation with Vilde and Magnus and before he could stop himself, a mixture of boredom and curiosity got the best of him. 

“So…” he started, feeling his cheeks start to heat as he kept his eyes stubbornly trained on the papers in front of him. “What _is_ your favorite sex position?” 

Even waited a beat, as if he wasn’t quite sure whether he had heard Isak correctly, and then started laughing. “What?” he asked and when Isak just looked over at him and shrugged, he dropped his head into his hands to hide his amusement. “I can’t tell if you’re joking.” 

“I mean,” Isak waffled, hoping his interest was coming off as flirtatious and not creepy. “I would hate to blow our cover over something so stupid.” 

Even couldn’t stop smiling and Isak felt his blush darken. “That’s the only reason, huh?” he challenged. Isak shrugged once more, his confidence dissipating. “Fine. But you first.” 

Isak scrunched his nose in distaste, but the fact that such precious information was hovering in the air just waiting for him to grab onto it made him brave. Even watched him expectantly with a smug smile on his face. 

“Doggy style,” Isak finally answered, turning back to the papers in his hand as if they were the most interesting things in the world. He skimmed a whole page without seeing anything before Even responded. 

“Yeah?” he asked and his voice was so thick with desire that Isak turned back to him only to find that Even’s cheeks were red now too. He looked good when he was flustered. 

Isak nodded. “Yeah. Can I try to guess yours?” 

“You think you know me that well?” Even grinned. Isak nodded. 

“I know that you seem like the type of person who enjoys vanilla sex.” 

“I do, do I?” he asked, shaking his head. His whole face was flushed now and it was beyond adorable. It took him a second to compose himself, but when he looked up at Isak once more, his eyes were darkening under his gaze. “I don’t know if that’s a compliment or an insult.” 

“It’s a compliment,” Isak answered immediately. “I just know you. You’d want lots of eye contact, soft music, candle-lit rooms. I’m guessing straight missionary for you.” Even looked ridiculously pleased with himself when he was able to shake his head. 

“No?” Isak chuckled, legitimately surprised. “What is it then?” 

Even bit his bottom lip, but he didn’t sound shy when he replied. “Cowgirl,” he said. Then, “Cowboy? Eh, either way. Now stop distracting me. We’re going to get caught.” 

He turned back to the computer immediately, his cheeks still red, but Isak kept watching him for a few more seconds, trying not to think about what he would look like bouncing on his cock. Fuck. He shouldn’t have brought it up. Not when they had to go back to their room later and share a bed. 

“Have you found anything?” he asked to distract him from his thoughts. 

Even shrugged helplessly. “Not much that I can make sense of, but I don’t know if that’s just because I don’t understand or because it literally doesn’t make sense. What I _do_ know is there was a lot of red in the books before all of these thefts started three months ago and suddenly there’s none—despite the fact that sales don’t seem to be increasing.” 

Isak let out a humorless laugh. “Well, that’s not suspicious at all.” He then turned back to the filing cabinet in front of him and pulled out yet another stack of papers. He didn’t actually expect to find anything. He thought it was just a pointless task Even had given him to keep him out of his way, but then an honest-to-god clue fell right into his lap. He had to read it over three times before it actually made sense. 

“What is that?” Even asked, interrupting his thoughts. It was only then that Isak realized his mouth was hanging open. “What do you have?” 

Isak stood and brought it over to the desk, smoothing it down so that Even could see it clearly. 

“It’s a transfer of ownership certificate,” he said excitedly. Even gave it a cursory glance, but still didn’t seem to see the significance. 

“For what?” 

“The fucking resort,” Isak said and then pointed to the name and signature at the very bottom. “Eva’s not just the manager. As of three months ago, she owns the place.” 

Even’s eyes widened in understanding. “Well, shit. Maybe it’s not Jonas after all.” 


	7. Chapter 7

“It certainly doesn’t look good, I’ll give you that,” Sana said, her voice coming through the speaker on Even’s phone, which he was holding between them. It was the next night and they were sitting at the back of the resort in their rental car, watching as Eva directed Mahdi and some of the other kitchen staff to load crates of alcohol into her SUV. “It looks like her father transferred the failing business into her name three months ago and she’s been fighting to stay afloat ever since. No criminal background, though. Not even a speeding ticket.” 

“And the other employees?” Even prompted. They could hear papers shuffling on the other line. 

“Nothing that stands out,” she said eventually. “No petty thefts, no robbery—certainly no _kidnapping_. And I know you were worried about the bartender, Even, but he’s clean.” 

“Great,” Even said, rolling his eyes at the smug smile on Isak’s face, “because Isak has a crush on him.” 

“What?” Isak cried, lunging for the phone, but Even pulled it out of his reach. “I do not!” 

“Don’t lie now, Isak,” Even continued playfully. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. I mean—” 

Isak lunged for the phone again, ending up half in Even’s lap, but Sana interrupted their argument before it really even got started. “You two seem to be getting along better,” she drawled and even though she didn’t say it outright, Isak could still hear the ‘I told you so’ behind her words. He hated when Sana was right. 

“Sharing a bed will do that to you,” Even replied, looking up into Isak’s eyes. Something heavy passed between them and it left Isak wishing that he would just hang up the phone so that they could be alone in the dark car once more. Since they weren’t alone, however, he gently extricated himself from Even’s lap and settled back into his seat to stare out the window so that he could at least pretend to do his job. “Listen, Sana,” Even continued. “We’ve been doing some surveillance on Eva today—we’re keeping our distance, I promise, but if we see anything suspicious, we’ll let you know. She’s the only lead we have and I would hate to lose it.” 

Sana sighed heavily. “That’s not what we sent you in for. I can have a surveillance team out there in a few hours. Just let me—” 

“It’s easier this way,” Even interrupted. “ _And_ less suspicious. If they catch us, we’ll just tell them we were making out in the car or something. It’s fine.” 

Isak kept staring determinedly out the window to hide the flush that had crept onto his cheeks at the mental image of him straddling Even in the back seat, grinding into his body as their lips tangled together. Isak hated that he could _feel_ it. Hated that he now knew how Even liked to play with his hair when they kissed—how he liked to pull Isak close and run his hands over his hips possessively. He also hated that he wasn’t sure if that was just how Even kissed or if it was how Even kissed _with an audience_. His blush faded as his lips turned down in a frown. 

“Just _be careful_ ,” Sana insisted. “Please. The financial information you gave Mutta is enough for a warrant for tax evasion if nothing else, so if nothing big happens in the next couple of days, I’m pulling you out. Try to stay alive until then, okay?” 

Even chuckled. “You got it. Bye, Sana. We’ll keep you updated.” He hung up the phone and pocketed it before reaching out and putting his hand on Isak’s elbow, forcing him to finally tear his gaze away from the window. “What’s up with you?” he asked, squeezing his elbow lightly. “You got all weird there for a second.” 

Isak shrugged, his mind immediately producing several believable lies, but just as he’d done the day before, he stopped himself before using any of them. He sighed. “I just got distracted. Sorry.” 

Even hummed like he could sense that that wasn’t the whole story. “By what?” 

“You fucking know by what,” Isak snapped good-naturedly, turning in his seat so that he could face Even properly. He was smirking, clearly pleased to have gotten a rise out of him, and Isak wondered—not for the first time—just how much of this was a game to him. 

“No,” Even mused, scratching his chin like he was deep in thought. “I don’t think I do.” 

Isak rolled his eyes and even though he knew he didn’t _have_ to answer, he found that he wanted to. “You,” he admitted, his voice quiet in the small car. Even’s breath hitched in his throat like he hadn’t actually expected him to admit it. “You can’t just talk about making out with me in the backseat of a car and expect me _not_ to get distracted.” 

Even smirked and looked over his shoulder into the backseat like he was scoping it out, trying to determine just how viable of an option it was. “It’s a good thought,” he finally decided, “but I don’t actually think we’d both fit back there.” Isak followed his gaze and did have to admit that it was pretty small, but given the opportunity, he was sure he would be able to make it work. 

“No?” Isak laughed, leaning in close enough so that Even would be able to feel his warm breath against his skin. “Do you want to try it?” 

Even swallowed hard, his eyes drifting down from Isak’s eyes to his lips, and just when Isak thought something might finally happen between them, they were startled apart by the sound of a car door slamming shut. They separated, both looking out towards where Eva had been packing up her car only seconds before. She was still there, ordering employees around, but it seemed that her car had finally been loaded. They were too far away to be able to make out actual words, but after a few minutes the employees trickled back inside as Eva climbed behind the wheel, started her car, and began to back out of the driveway. Even waited for her to get a head start and then followed from a distance. 

“She’s probably heading to The Inferno,” Isak said to fill the silence. “It looked like they were just transferring stock.” 

“Yeah,” Even agreed reluctantly. After a day of nothing, they’d pretty much given up on anything interesting happening. “We may not have learned much, but I am now absolutely positive that I never want to go into hotel management. This is boring as hell.” 

They _did_ end up at The Inferno and since the back was gated off for deliveries only, they were forced to park the car and actually go into the club in the hopes of seeing Eva again. 

“We’re turning into one of those crazy party couples that go wild on their honeymoon,” Isak pointed out as the bouncer waved them inside. 

“Going out two nights in one week,” Even agreed with a smile. “Who are we?” 

It was a Friday night and even though it was still early, the place was already packed. Isak’s senses were immediately overwhelmed. There were strobe lights flashing everywhere, effectively blinding him, and even though he could see Even’s lips moving in the dark, he couldn’t actually hear what he was saying over the loud beat of the music. People were encroaching on him from all sides, pushing into his personal space unceremoniously, and it felt like they were stealing the air from his lungs, making it difficult for him to breathe. He was already on high alert, jumping at every small touch, and being in a crowded place with only Even to protect him left him feeling vulnerable. 

Panic started to bubble deep in his chest, but before it could erupt, Even reached out, took Isak’s hand in his, and laced their fingers together. “This way,” he yelled over the music and then he dragged Isak to a table in the very corner where the crowd was thinner and the music was less demanding. Isak tried to keep a lookout as they walked, but it was hard to recognize people in the dark. Still, he was pretty sure he saw Vilde and Magnus curled up with each other in a booth across the room and he was positive Emma—their maid—bumped into his shoulder on her way to the dance floor because she screamed “Shampoo Guy!” at him before her friend dragged her away. 

“You okay?” Even asked once they were settled at the empty table. He still hadn’t let go of Isak’s hand and Isak wasn’t about to make him. He squeezed it tight, hoping to draw strength from Even’s stoic attitude. 

“I think so,” he admitted. “It’s just a lot.” 

Even groaned. “Ugh, I know. If we ever go on an actual honeymoon, I swear I won’t drag you out to a place like this.” 

Isak felt his eyes widen and when Even glanced back over at him after doing a scan of the bar, he did a double-take at the look of surprise on Isak’s face. Then, seeming to finally understand what exactly he had just said, he blushed. “Just forget I—” 

“What would we do instead?” Isak asked before Even could take it back. He ran his thumb soothingly along the back of his hand, encouraging him to continue. Even stared down at the touch and then looked back up at Isak with a soft smile. 

“We wouldn’t get out of bed all week,” he replied, turning Isak’s hand over in his so that he could press it against the table and trace patterns across his palm. “Except for snorkeling,” he added. “I still really want to go snorkeling.” 

Isak laughed. “Oh my god, Even. You’re such a fucking dork.” 

“Yeah,” he agreed with a shrug. “But you love me.” Isak _did_ love him—that was the scary thing. He’d loved him for years, planned out their future and then had it taken from him by a bullet that wasn’t meant for either of them. They’d been in this exact same place before though, standing right on the edge of something great, but they had never had the courage to jump off of that cliff and fly. Isak didn’t think he could take many more disappointments, but looking at Even now and seeing the unbridled longing in his blue eyes, he was starting to think that he might not have to. They stared at each other for much too long, like they truly were a couple in love, but eventually Even forced his gaze away and let out a nervous laugh as he pulled his hand back towards himself. 

“So, do you see Eva?” he asked and Isak blinked the vision of him out of his eyes and turned towards the bar instead. Sure enough, Eva was there, her hair piled into a messy bun atop her head as she tied a small black apron around her waist. She was a bit overdressed for bartending, but that’s what she was doing. “Well, she’s obviously guilty,” Even sighed, spotting her as well. “What kind of monster covers shifts for her employees?” 

Isak rolled his eyes at Even’s sarcasm. “You want to go back to the hotel?” 

“Nah,” Even said, his eyes never leaving the bar. “We might as well stay for a little while. See if one of us can at least get kidnapped. Then the night won’t be a complete waste.” 

Isak reluctantly agreed, so they sat there talking for a while longer. There was a part of him that wanted to drag Even back out onto the dance floor, to feel the hard lines of his body moving against his once more, but before he could yank up the courage to ask, there was some commotion across the room that was loud enough to attract their attention even over the pounding bass of the music. 

It was hard to make out the specifics from a distance since their vision was at the mercy of the strobe lights flashing around, but Isak was eventually able to recognize Jonas, although he had never seen him quite so angry before. He was yelling at a lanky blonde boy—Julian the bellhop, Isak realized belatedly—and, much to his surprise, Julian was yelling right back, both of them gesticulating wildly. 

“What’s going on?” he muttered, but it seemed that Even didn’t have an answer either because he just shook his head helplessly. 

It took less than a minute for Jonas to win whatever argument they were having and Julian was quick to leave once the bouncers showed up to escort him off of the premises. Through it all, Eva stayed behind the bar, watching nervously with her bottom lip tucked between her teeth. When Jonas came back and dumped Julian’s unfinished drink down the drain, she tried to ask him questions, but he just brushed her off and eventually they both returned to work. 

“Well that was fucking weird,” Isak noted, still watching the bar. “You wonder what that was about?” When Even didn’t respond, Isak turned back to him only to find that he was watching Isak guiltily. “What?” he whined, already knowing that he wasn’t going to like whatever came next. 

“Babe,” Even started and it was so condescending that Isak rolled his eyes. “I need you to go flirt with the bartender.” 

“Even!” 

“Just one more time,” he assured him, reaching out to place his hand on Isak’s arm. Despite the fact that the touch calmed him, he pulled it away because he knew it probably calmed Even too and he was mad. “Please?” It was the pout that did it. 

“Fucking fine,” Isak agreed, standing up with a screech as his chair was pushed out from under him. “But then we’re leaving.” 

Even from a distance, Isak could tell that Jonas was in a rotten mood, but when he was finally standing in front of him, he gave him the smallest of smiles. 

“Isak,” he greeted. “What can I get you?” 

“Two beers, please,” Isak answered. “Whatever’s on tap.” Jonas nodded and started pouring the beers, his eyes wandering the crowd behind Isak as if he was looking for something. 

It was a risk to just come out and say it, but Isak figured curiosity was human nature for everyone—not just cops—and they _had_ made quite a scene. “So what was going on earlier?” he asked, gesturing back towards the corner where Jonas and Julian had been arguing. “Seemed a bit heated.” 

Jonas sighed as he passed the beers over, but he didn’t actually seem annoyed by the question. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I may have been overreacting, but I know I saw him putting something in that drink. He swore it was just one of those flavor packets you can add to water, but I’m not taking any chances. Not after—” He broke off before he could finish his sentence, hiding the last words behind a cough. It was the first time Isak had heard anyone even indirectly mention the abductions. 

“Not after what?” he asked, unable to contain his excitement. Thankfully, Jonas didn’t seem to read too much into it. 

“Nothing,” Jonas sighed. “It’s nothing. Just stupid work drama. I shouldn’t have brought it up.” 

Sensing that their conversation was over, Isak nodded and picked up the beers, leaving a decent tip in the tip jar before returning to their table. When he got back, Even was no longer there and his first instinct was to worry. 

He set the beers down and then canvased the room, trying to keep the panic off of his face. He cataloged everything—who was standing by the doors, who was heading into the bathrooms—just in case he needed the information later. Just in case Even didn’t come back. 

It took Isak two full sweeps of the dance floor to finally spot him and when he did, he couldn’t help but laugh because Even was sandwiched between Vilde and Magnus, moving sluggishly along to the beat of the music like he was a prisoner being forced to dance against his will. He probably was. Isak sighed, a wave of relief crashing over him. 

“Save me,” Even mouthed when he caught Isak looking and, lucky for him, Isak was feeling generous. He left the drinks alone at the table and went to join Even on the dance floor. 

“I thought you’d been abducted, asshole,” he hissed into his ear once Even had snaked his arms around his waist and pulled him closer. 

“Do you not see who I’m with?” Even countered. “I fucking was.” 

They were swaying to the music, barely moving at all, and it was much too polite for Isak’s taste. His adrenaline was still pumping from his brief moment of panic earlier and all he wanted was for Even to wreck him. To tear him apart right there on the dance floor until all that was left was his heart, which was Even’s if he wanted it. 

“Dance with me,” he said, turning in Even’s arms so that his back was pressed against Even's front and then, before Even could set his own pace, Isak began moving his hips in time to the music, pushing his ass back into Even’s crotch insistently, making it very clear what exactly he wanted. 

Even froze for several long seconds, every muscle tense against Isak’s, but then, as if some flip had been switched, he began moving as well, his fingers curling into Isak’s hips so that he could lead him where he wanted. Isak leaned his head back against Even’s shoulder and got lost in how perfectly their bodies fit together, how good it felt to be enveloped in Even’s touch until he was burning with it. 

They kept dancing until Isak was a certifiable mess. Sweat was soaking through his T-shirt and it was only partially a result of the heat. He could feel Even growing hard against his ass and their movements were getting dirtier by the second. They were grinding more than swaying, thrusting more than dancing. And although nothing was different, it felt like everything had changed. They had done this same thing only days before, but the air hadn’t felt so charged then. Isak hadn’t felt Even in his bones, hadn’t wanted to open up his body to make room for him inside. He felt like he was going crazy—just a fragile twig ready to snap—and as Even leaned in and licked a line along the shell of Isak’s ear, his hands drifting beneath the waistband of his underwear, Isak finally did. 

“Fuck it,” he hissed as he tilted his head back so that he could see Even over his shoulder. His pupils were blown wide and his lips were parted as if he already knew what was coming. Isak then tangled his fingers in Even’s sweat-damp hair and, not giving himself enough time to change his mind, pulled him in for a wet, dirty kiss. The glide of their lips set his body on fire like the spark inside of him that had been flickering for four years had finally been lit. 

He turned in Even’s arms once more, never breaking their kiss, and then they weren’t dancing at all. They were just standing there, tangled together, kissing like the air they needed to breath could only be found in each other. Even pulled him close until Isak could feel their hearts beating in time, and then he planted his leg between Isak’s, giving him something to grind against. He got lost in the feel of Even’s lips and he couldn’t get enough. He kept trying to get closer, to kiss him harder, and soon he was a panting, writhing mess, his kisses uncoordinated as he approached orgasm from humping Even’s thigh alone. Despite the doubts that he’d had before, he knew at that moment that they were no longer Isak and Even Andersen, newlyweds. They were just Isak and Even—and Isak had been waiting for that for a long time. 

He wasn’t sure he would have been able to stop himself if Even hadn’t been there to do it for him. He probably would have let Even get him off right there in front of everyone, but thankfully he still seemed to have the wherewithal to preserve Isak’s dignity. 

“Let’s get out of here,” he whispered into Isak’s ear and then he stepped back, his erection painfully obvious in his tight pants, and Isak followed him off of the dance floor willingly, his cock throbbing from how aroused he was. He grabbed Even’s hand and they left the club together. 

Stepping out into the humid summer air was like stepping into a different world. It was quiet outside and the air smelled clean, like salt water and sand. The abrupt change from too much stimulation to none left Isak feeling dizzy but Even didn’t seem to be affected because he just kept pulling on Isak’s hand as if he was impatient to get to the car. Once they got there, he had to let go of him to fish his keys out of his pocket and Isak couldn’t help but tease him a little, so he nuzzled into his neck, planting soft kisses on the sensitive skin there, and enjoyed the way it made Even shiver. 

“Isak,” Even warned, but it didn’t sound like he was telling him to stop. It sounded like he was asking for more. So Isak bit and licked and sucked, trying to leave another bruise right where he’d left the first one—only this time it was really him doing it, not the person he had pretended to be. 

When Even finally had his keys in hand, he surprised Isak by pushing him off of his neck only to take his face in his hands and back him up against the car, kissing him hard. The kiss quickly slowed, however, into something almost painfully soft. It was like Even was soothing him without words, saying, _I’m here. I’m not going anywhere_. Isak gripped onto his wrists and didn’t let go until Even broke them apart once more and took a step back like he couldn’t think clearly when he was standing so close to Isak. 

“Stay,” Even ordered, raising his hands for protection when Isak made a move to lunge forward. Reluctantly, he did as asked. “Just get in the car. I needed you in a bed like fifteen minutes ago.” Isak had never buckled himself into a seat faster. 

Even soon peeled out of the parking lot and even though it was only a five-minute drive, it already felt too long. Isak couldn’t take his eyes off of him, scared that if he looked away, he would wake up and find that it had all been a dream. 

“Don’t,” Even warned and Isak furrowed his brows in confusion. “I can’t concentrate with you looking at me like that. I’m going to wreck the fucking car.” 

Isak snorted and lowered his gaze to Even’s lap, where the outline of his dick was still visible against the seam of his pants—and fuck, it was a nice dick. Isak could already tell. His mouth started to water at just the idea of getting his tongue on him and he couldn’t help but feel that they were wasting precious time sitting at a stoplight when Even’s dick was right there, already willing and waiting. Plus, Isak knew he was a bit too gone to really take his time once they were back at the hotel and Even deserved for his body to be worshipped. 

“Shit, Isak. I’m serious,” Even whined. “You’ve gotta stop looking at me like that.” 

“Fine,” Isak agreed, pulling on his seatbelt to get some slack so that he could lean across the center console and cup his hand over Even’s dick. “I won’t look at you at all.” Then, before Even could stop him, he popped open the button of his pants and unzipped them, pulling Even's dick out of his boxers with shaking fingers—and yeah, he was right. It was a nice dick. 

“What the fuck,” Even hissed, trying to scrabble away from him, but there was nowhere to go. 

“Shh,” Isak soothed, gripping onto the base to keep him still. “Just drive.” 

He watched Even closely, waiting for him to say no—to give any tiny indication that he didn’t actually want this—but he never did. He just looked down at Isak like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His body was coiled tight, every muscle clenched in anticipation, but Isak could see his thigh vibrating with nervous energy and that gave him enough courage to lean down and take him into his mouth. 

It had been a long time since Isak had given a blowjob—like a _long_ time. He hadn’t dated at all in the years since he’d met Even and when he needed something to take the edge off, it was always just a quick fuck. No kissing, no foreplay. He kind of wished he’d stayed in practice if only to make this good, but Even was already rock hard in Isak’s mouth, his dick leaking pre-come, and Isak didn’t think either of them were going to last long regardless. 

He sucked on the head, familiarizing himself with the taste of it, and then swallowed Even down just as the car hit a bump in the road, forcing him even deeper. Isak gagged on it and had to pull off, leaving a trail of spit in his wake. 

“Shit, sorry,” Even apologized, but Isak wasn’t listening. It felt like a challenge now and he was determined to do it right—to make it good—so he dived back in and took Even as deep as he could, feeling strangely proud when Even groaned as he hit the back of his throat. “Isak,” he whispered reverently as Isak pulled off once more and then took him back down, slowly working up a rhythm. “Fuck.” 

It wasn’t the best blowjob he had ever given by any means, but he was so turned on that he hardly noticed the weirdness. Because it _was_ weird. The angle was weird. The way Even’s leg was moving beneath him to press the brakes every time they reached a stoplight was weird. It was all weird. But the sounds Even was making made it worth it. Isak liked to think that maybe it had been a long time since he’d been _given_ a blowjob as well. 

“Fucking hell,” he said, his legs trembling as Isak pulled off to run his tongue along the vein on the underside of his dick. He then tangled his fingers in Isak’s hair to push his curls out of his eyes, but when he was done, he kept his hand there, resting it on top of Isak’s head like a benediction. He wasn’t pulling, wasn't trying to guide him. It was like he just needed to be able to touch. Isak hummed at the feel, leaning into him, and Even groaned once more, another spurt of pre-come leaking out onto Isak’s tongue. Isak licked it off and then sucked his way down once more. 

Even was making some sort of whining noise at the back of this throat that was ridiculously adorable, but Isak had no idea what it meant. He didn’t know what Even sounded like when he was about to come—didn’t even know if it was a good sound or a bad sound—but Even wasn’t complaining so he just kept doing what he was doing. He was a fast learner. 

It was less than a minute later that Even stopped him. “Okay, stop, stop,” he said and Isak pulled off immediately, worried that he had done something wrong, but when he sat up, he realized that they were pulling into the parking lot of the resort. Even looked over at him from beneath his eyelashes, a blush high on his cheeks. “Sorry. I just...I was about to come.” 

Isak smirked. “Well, do you want to?” 

Even parked the car and ran his fingers through his hair almost violently, like Isak had given him an impossible choice. He looked over at him helplessly, biting his bottom lip until it turned red. “Not yet,” he finally decided. “I want to see you naked first.” 

Isak smirked and since he was still holding Even’s dick in his hand, he tucked it carefully back into his boxers and zipped him up. Even watched him the whole time, his mouth open in wonder, and when Isak was done, he couldn’t resist leaning forward and smacking a kiss onto his lips. 

“Then let’s go,” he said, stepping out of the car. It took Even a second to join him, but once he did, he grabbed Isak by the hand and began leading him into the building, walking slightly faster than was comfortable. Isak laughed at his eagerness. 

“Do you know how long I’ve wanted you to do that?” Even asked as they reached the elevator. He pushed the up button three times just to make sure it was coming. 

Isak thought about the years they’d spent sharing a patrol car and how many times he had fantasized about jumping Even when things got a little too boring—or when Even got a little too irresistible. “Probably about as long as I’ve wanted to do it,” he replied with a smile just as the elevator dinged, signaling its arrival. 

Even pulled him inside and hit the button for the second floor, but Isak didn’t want to waste any of the time they had together, so he backed Even up against the mirrored elevator wall, standing close enough for him to _feel_ just how much he was affecting him. Even went willingly, pliant in Isak’s arms, and then they just stared at each other, eyes shining bright in disbelief, before they were kissing again. 

Isak kissed him hard, wanting him to feel it in every inch of his body, and Even whimpered against his lips, bringing his hand up to cup Isak’s cheek like he had tried to keep it away, but couldn’t resist. The whole thing felt like a dream—a dream that Isak had been having for years—so he kissed him with abandon as the elevator lurched upward and just as he’d felt on that very first day, it was like the journey was stripping them of the facade that had stood between them for so long. They were no longer pretending. Isak was baring his soul to Even, opening himself up to ridicule and rejection, and he was trusting Even to do the same. 

It felt like barely any time had passed before the elevator chimed once more and the doors sprung open. Reluctantly, Isak ended their kiss, but the two of them stayed with their heads bowed together for several more seconds, both trying to catch their breath. It was Even that finally spoke into the silence, his voice broken. 

“You terrify me, Isak,” he breathed, his eyes roving Isak’s face like he had never seen him before. “This is all I’ve thought about for four years. You’re the only future I know.” 

Isak’s heart flipped in his chest. “You’re my future too,” he whispered and the words hung heavy in the air between them because it was the first time he had said them aloud—the first time he had even admitted them to himself. He needed something to lighten the mood, something to make what they were doing seem less life-alteringly scary, so he smiled, his pulse still racing. “Now do you want to see me naked or not?” 

Even smirked and let Isak drag him out of the elevator by his belt loops, stopping for kisses every few feet down the hallway until they finally reached their room. 

The light was off when Isak opened the door and he didn’t bother turning it back on. The room was bright enough that they could see what they needed to see and the dark made everything seem more intimate—more sensual. It was only when Even pushed Isak back onto the bed and Isak bounced on top of the mattress that his mind jumped ahead to what was coming next and he froze. 

“Shit,” he said, stopping Even from plopping down on top of him. “Do you have lube?” Even smirked and then crossed to his suitcase to pull out a small bottle of lube and a condom. “Thank fuck,” Isak sighed, collapsing back against the pillows. Then he laughed. “Why do you even have that? Who did you think you were going to be fucking on our honeymoon?” 

Even tossed the supplies onto the bed next to Isak’s hip and then reached behind him to pull his own shirt off by the collar. Isak sat up on his elbows to watch the show, his mouth going dry at the sight of Even’s flat, toned stomach glowing in the moonlight. 

“I mean,” Even said, sliding his pants down his legs as well so that his cock hung heavy between them, leaving him naked in front of Isak while Isak remained clothed. Inside his boxers, Isak’s dick gave an excited twitch. “I figured if I was going to share a bed with you for a week, I would need it one way or another.” 

He took a step towards the bed and Isak moved to meet him, standing tall on his knees so that he could wrap his arms around Even’s neck and kiss his lips. Their kisses were loud in the quiet room and it only turned Isak on more to be able to hear the sounds of their love echoing around them. He slowly let his hands trail down Even’s shoulders, over his chest, and finally along the line of his cock, appreciating the way it jumped at his touch. 

“Shirt,” Even mumbled against his lips, tugging at the hem of Isak’s shirt, so he pulled away and let him lift it over his head. Then, without warning, Even pushed him back into the pillows and crawled on top of him, kissing up his stomach as he worked to undo Isak’s belt one-handed. Isak just lay there, letting Even explore his body, his breath coming in ragged pants as he tried to get his racing heart under control. 

Once his belt was unbuckled, Even pulled Isak’s pants and underwear off at the same time. His cock sprang up against his stomach with a wet _smack_ and he probably would have been embarrassed if it wasn’t for the look of rapture on Even’s face at the sight of it. 

“Fuck,” Even muttered, taking it in hand and giving it a couple of half-hearted strokes like he was trying to familiarize himself with the weight of it. He then leaned down like he was going to take it into his mouth, his eyes never leaving Isak’s, but all he did was place a soft kiss on the tip before rolling over and collapsing next to him, his weight making the bedsprings squeak. 

“That’s all?” Isak joked. “I gave you fucking road head and all I get is—” Before he could finish his sentence, Even had pressed the bottle of lube into his hand and spread his legs open like he was just waiting for Isak to fill the space between them. Isak shut up immediately. 

“Do you really want to waste time on a blowjob?” Even drawled. “I’ll give you one later. Just...please. I need you to fuck me so that maybe I can actually focus on this case instead of how fucking hot you look in a bathing suit.” 

Isak preened. “All you had to do was ask.” He rolled over onto Even and kissed him once on the mouth before trailing kisses all the way down his body including a soft one to the tip of his dick, just as Even had done to him. Even groaned, but spread his legs even wider, allowing Isak to situate himself in the middle so that he was lying on his stomach with Even’s ass on full display in front of him. 

He slicked up his fingers with lube and let it get warm from his body heat before reaching out and rubbing circles around Even’s rim gently. He planned to do that for a while—to tease him a little just because he could—but Even pushed back against his finger almost immediately, forcing him in to the first knuckle. He took it beautifully, his skin shining with a thin sheen of sweat, so Isak didn’t hesitate before pushing in deeper, enjoying the feel of Even’s body stretching to accommodate him. 

He tried to go slow, to be thorough and meticulous, but Even refused to let him. He kept asking for more and faster and Isak trusted him to know what he wanted, so he did as instructed until Even was a writhing mess beneath him, stretched open on three fingers. 

Isak was a bit of a mess too. He couldn’t help it. Even was laid out before him, giving him everything, and it was so ridiculously hot that he couldn’t help grinding his own dick into the mattress, seeking some sort of friction just to keep him sane. 

Isak curled his fingers inside of Even, making him groan, and he watched as another bead of pre-come was added to the puddle at the tip of Even’s dick. He reached out, wanting to taste it, but Even swatted him away before he could even get a good grip on him. 

He blinked up at Isak blearily as if he’d forgotten how to form words. “You’re overestimating my stamina,” he finally said and Isak had to admit that he was probably overestimating his as well. Satisfied that Even was prepped, he pulled his fingers out of his ass and then sat back on his heels to stare down at him. 

“How long’s it been?” he asked and although Even’s cheeks grew darker, he didn’t hesitate to answer. 

“Over a year,” he said and Isak nodded because that’s what he had expected. 

“Me too,” he admitted. 

Even was quiet for a while and Isak thought he was going to say something poignant, but he just thrust his hips into the air and whined. Isak couldn’t help but smile. “Okay, good, so—” 

Isak didn’t let him finish before he reached down, grabbed Even’s waist, and rolled them so that Isak was the one laying against the mattress and Even was hovering over him, unsure of what had just happened. His mouth was open in a small “o” of surprise, but he quickly readjusted, straddling Isak’s waist and sitting back on his hips like he already knew what was coming. 

“This is how you like it, right?” Isak offered. Even let out a shaky breath before nodding, pushing back onto Isak’s dick so that it was sliding between his lubed asscheeks. Isak couldn’t resist reaching around Even to pull his cheeks apart so that when he rocked backwards, he would feel the tip of Isak’s dick right against his hole. He just kept going though, like he couldn’t even pause long enough to push Isak inside, and this time it was Isak that had to warn _him_ about stamina. 

“I’m going to blow before I ever get inside of you if you keep—” 

“Right,” Even agreed, lifting up on his knees and reaching behind him to grab the condom. He slid it onto Isak’s dick clinically and the latex helped to dull the sensations just enough that Isak could think clearly again. Even positioned Isak’s dick at his entrance and although Isak wanted to help, he kept his hands resting on Even’s thighs and let him do the work _._ It took what felt like a lifetime for Even to get Isak where he wanted him, but once he did, he looked up and made eye contact as he pushed Isak inside his body and sank his tight, wet heat down around him. 

It was a miracle Isak didn’t come right then because he was positive he had never felt something so perfect in his entire life. It was like Even’s body had been molded specifically to him and he couldn’t help thrusting his hips up to force Even down those last few inches, making them both groan. 

“Shit,” Even hissed as he sat there getting used to the stretch and Isak did what he could to soothe him, running his hands up and down his thighs and telling him how good he felt—how perfect. Even leaned forward to rest his hands on Isak’s chest, pulling off of his cock a few inches before sinking back down again. He did that a few more times, just small movements as they got used to each other’s bodies, and Isak was mesmerized by the sight of him. By the way his mouth was hanging open and his eyes were hooded in ecstasy. He was absolutely beautiful and the years they had wasted felt extra cruel as Isak watched what he almost had from the very beginning. 

Even began moving faster then and it was maddening just having to lay there and take it. Isak thought that was probably why he liked this position so much. It gave him the control that so many other aspects of his life denied him. Soon, he was taking Isak’s dick easily, his head thrown back as precious little whimpers escaped him with every thrust. He was finding his pleasure in Isak’s body, letting his dick slap against Isak’s stomach with every bounce, and fuck—Isak was already close. His senses were overwhelmed. All he could feel was Even's ass clenched tight around him as the smell of sex permeated the air. He was teetering right on the precipice, needing only one more good thrust before he would be coming, when suddenly Even stopped moving altogether and leaned down, pulling almost all of the way off of him so that he could reach Isak’s lips and kiss him. 

Their breath was thick against each other’s mouths, their kisses sloppy, but it was just what Isak needed. He needed to feel him—to know that Even was offering more than just his body. He hugged him close and then began thrusting upwards, letting Even relax against him while he did what he could to make them both feel good. 

Even let out a moan that didn’t stop as Isak picked up his pace, but he eventually hid the sound in Isak’s neck, mouthing at the skin there like he was looking for something to latch onto. Isak pounded into him harder, chasing his release, and it wasn’t long before he was on that precipice once more, just waiting for permission to jump. 

“Shit, Even, I’m going to—” he started and Even just nodded against his neck. 

Isak gave one final thrust, burying himself deep inside Even’s body, and then he was coming with a guttural grunt that he had never heard himself make before. Even licked the sound off of his lips and then sat back up, rocking his hips over Isak’s sensitive cock until he seemed to hit the spot he was looking for because he cried out in surprise and did it again, bringing his hand up to jerk himself off in time to his own thrusts. Isak knew he should probably help, but Even looked so beautiful pleasuring himself that he didn’t dare intervene. He just laid back and watched, wondering what he had done to deserve someone like Even. 

Even continued to stroke himself, the muscles in his stomach rippling with every roll of his hips, and when he came, he came with his blue eyes locked onto Isak’s green ones. The first spurt of come hit Isak right in the face, but the rest were more controlled and when Even came down from his orgasm, he leaned forward to happily lick up the mess he had made before kissing Isak once more, the bitter tang of come ripe on his tongue. 

Isak had already gone fully soft inside of him when they finally separated, but even then, they didn’t drift far from each other. They were still flushed and sweaty, so they didn’t bother hiding their nakedness under the blankets, just lay there and stared in fascination, reaching out every now and then to touch—to assure themselves this was real. 

There was a bright ray of moonlight shining through the thin curtains that illuminated half of Even’s body and nothing else. His smooth skin made him look like some sort of marble statue, the only blemish the scar on his abdomen. Before he could stop himself, Isak reached out and ran his fingers along the puckered skin there, touching what remained of Even's bullet wound for the first time since the night he had held pressure to it to keep him alive. There wasn’t much in his life that he was proud of, but he was proud of that. 

“Promise me something,” Isak whispered into the darkness, ignoring the way his voice cracked with emotion. Even cupped his face in his hand and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. 

“Anything,” he promised without even knowing what Isak was going to say, but there wasn’t a trace of doubt in his voice. 

“Promise me that you won’t use me to punish yourself again. Promise me that no matter what happens, _I_ get to be there to make it better. You don’t get to push me away.” 

Even swallowed hard, but after several long seconds, he nodded. “I promise to try, but I need you to promise me something too. Promise you won’t let me.” 

Isak’s heart melted in his chest at the pain in Even’s voice and he made the decision right then that he was never letting him go. It was like his whole life had been building to this night and he refused to let anyone take that away from him—even Even. Without a word, he leaned forward and kissed him once more, hoping that he could feel in that kiss even a fraction of the love Isak was keeping locked up tight inside of him. Then, muscles weary and eyes already drifting closed, they settled into sleep, curled in each other’s arms. 


	8. Chapter 8

Isak awoke to the sound of Even’s heartbeat racing beneath his ear. For a second he thought Even was panicking, but then he pulled Isak close and kissed the top of his head, relaxing him instantly. Isak smiled, happiness pouring off of him in waves as he relived the soft drag of Even’s lips against his and the perfect way they fit together like they truly were meant to be. When he couldn’t hold his joy in any longer, he kissed Even’s bare chest and then tilted his head up to say good morning. Even was already staring back. 

“Hi,” Isak said, his smile impossibly wide. 

Even, who hadn’t been smiling before, was suddenly grinning from ear to ear as well, feeding off of Isak’s happiness as a faint blush rose to his cheeks. 

“Hi,” he agreed and then just gazed at Isak like he had never seen anyone quite so mesmerizing in his entire life. 

“Stop,” Isak whined, burying his face in Even’s shoulder. 

“Stop what?” Even laughed, forcing Isak to turn back to him. 

Isak blushed. “Stop looking at me like that,” he whispered, but it obviously had no effect because Even just continued to stare. Isak rolled his eyes and moved to climb off of the bed, but Even pulled him back down until he was laying sprawled across his body once more. 

“Sorry,” he chuckled, running his fingers through Isak’s hair. “You’re just so beautiful. It’s hard not to stare.” 

Then, before Isak could mount the proper defenses against him, Even was kissing him again—slow, deep kisses that he could feel all the way down to the tips of his toes. It was all-consuming, like Even was working his way into every tiny crevice of his body, and Isak wasn’t prepared for the way that made his heart feel so full he could hardly breathe. 

He broke the kiss to get a fresh breath of air, but Even kept kissing him anyway—first on his cheeks, then his jaw, and then his neck, where he went to work leaving a bruise that would match the one that Isak had given him days before. Isak happily let Even mark him, shivering as the wet patches of skin he was leaving behind got chilled by the morning air, but eventually he couldn’t take the teasing any longer. He pulled Even back up and stole his lips, licking into his mouth so that he could taste who he was deep inside. 

They were both still naked from the night before and it didn’t take long before their dicks were hard against each other, but Isak wasn’t interested in taking things further. He was enjoying just the feel of a warm body pressed against his, the innocent way Even’s tongue traced his lips, the awestruck sounds he made when he was completely lost to his pleasure. Sex with Even was fun, but there was something enticing about this too—just making out because they could. Because they wanted to. Isak smirked against Even’s lips and then, to keep things from devolving into something far dirtier, he pushed up onto his knees, taking away the friction that Even had been lazily thrusting up into. 

“Mean,” Even said, but he was still smiling and returned Isak’s next kiss wholeheartedly when he gave it. They danced together like that for several more minutes before Isak realized he needed to stop if he wanted to keep things from going too far. He pulled away from Even’s lips, ignoring his groan of frustration, and then collapsed down beside him. 

They were both breathing hard and staring at each other with the same look of wonder in their eyes. Isak was positive he had never been this happy before. 

It was a strange thing to occur to him then, but at that moment he felt like he understood why Even had pushed him away so many months ago. This was the type of happy you spent your whole life searching for and it felt like it shouldn’t be allowed—like being this happy meant you were stealing it from someone else because it was just that good. It was a high like Isak had never known, a high that he didn’t think he would be able to come down from. He couldn’t imagine the guilt he would have faced being this happy in the wake of tragedy. 

His smile slipped from his lips for only a second, but Even saw and kissed him to bring it back. “I wish we could stay like this all day,” Even said, pushing Isak’s curls out of his eyes. “That’s what honeymoons are for, right?” 

“This isn’t actually our honeymoon though,” Isak reminded him and Even pursed his lips as if he were thinking. 

“Isn’t it?” he countered. “I mean, we’re in the honeymoon stage of this for sure. All I want to do is fuck you.” To prove his point, he grabbed Isak’s hand and placed it on top of the covers over his still hard dick. Isak smirked and began stroking it through the blankets, trying not to think about how badly he wanted to get his mouth back on him. Even thrust into his touch on instinct, but Isak only humored him for a second before withdrawing his hand. 

“We’re working,” he reminded him, pulling away. 

“Not at the moment,” Even argued with a groan. He grabbed Isak’s hand and tried to put it back, but Isak swatted him away playfully and Even just laughed. 

“We _should_ be working,” Isak corrected and then leaned over to give Even a quick peck on the cheek. “Later, I promise,” he said, laying down on Even’s chest once more. “I’m more scared of Sana than I am of you.” 

“Fine,” Even sighed. “I guess I’ll just jerk off in the shower. _Again_.” 

Isak snorted, thinking it was a joke, but then he remembered watching Even do exactly that a few mornings ago and he blushed. “I saw you,” he said because he was curious what Even would say. “Jerking off in the shower on our first day here.” 

Even was silent for several long seconds, his muscles stiffening in disbelief, but when Isak didn’t say anything else, he groaned—clearly embarrassed—and Isak could feel the vibration from where he was resting his head on Even’s chest. 

“You did not,” Even tried, making Isak laugh. 

“I did too,” he assured him. “The door to the bathroom was open and I was curious. I didn’t watch for long, but, well, I watched for _long enough_.” Even groaned again and Isak wrapped his arms around him tighter to make sure that he didn’t try to run away from his embarrassment. He could indulge Isak for a bit. “What were you thinking about?” he asked because he remembered thinking at the time that there was no way it could be him. Now, he wasn’t so sure. 

“You,” Even said immediately and although he had been expecting it, it was still strange to hear the words spoken aloud like that—like there was nothing left between them to be ashamed of. “You can’t expect me to sleep in a bed with you every night and _not_ wake up with a boner. I think it’s impossible.” 

“Yeah?” Isak asked, trying not to sound as impossibly hopeful as he felt. Even made a soft noise of assent deep in his throat and Isak, his heart once again very full, nuzzled into Even’s warm body, needing to feel more of him. 

They just lay there for a while, Isak drifting back into a half-sleep as Even ran his fingers through his hair, but eventually Even spoke again. “You’ve been my go-to fantasy for years,” he admitted into the whisper-quiet room. “I’m sorry if that’s weird, but—” 

“It’s not weird,” Isak interrupted because it was easier than admitting that Even had been his as well. He could feel Even looking down at him in the exact way Isak had told him not to, but it didn’t bother him so much anymore. “Was, um...Did the real thing live up to your expectations?” 

Isak’s question startled a laugh out of Even and Isak had to resist the temptation to cover his face with his hands. “Did you just ask me if you’re good in bed?” Even chuckled. 

“Maybe,” he admitted, but he was too shy to look up at Even as he said it. 

Even seemed to sense Isak’s vulnerability because his voice softened. “Well, I promise,” he said, tilting Isak’s chin up and forcing him to look him in the eyes. “You did not disappoint.” The words were playful, but his tone was heavy and Isak could tell without him saying anything that he had felt that same euphoria Isak had the night before—the same sense of belonging. He swallowed hard and just kept staring, amazed at the simple fact that he was allowed to. It was Even that eventually broke the silence, his voice teasing once more. “I think you might have bruised me though.” 

“What?!” Isak cried, sitting up immediately. “Where?” 

Even smirked and pulled back the blankets, baring a line of fingertip-shaped bruises on of his hip. 

“Fuck,” Isak groaned, reaching for him and fitting his fingertips into the imprints they had left behind. He choked back just how much those bruises turned him on because he doubted that was the appropriate response. Still, seeing that he had left a piece of himself on Even had his dick chubbing up against his thigh once more. “I’m so sorry.” 

“No, you’re not. Don’t lie. I can see it on your face,” Even said, rolling his eyes. “But you don’t have to be sorry anyway,” he added, looking down at the bruises like they were battle scars he was proud of. “I like them. And now I get to return the favor.” 

He lunged towards Isak without warning, pushing him back against the pillows, and then he was kissing him wherever he could find the skin to do so: on his lips and his cheeks and his chest. Isak laughed and tried to push him away, but Even redoubled his efforts, determined to lavish Isak with as much love as possible. Isak was saved from the relentless attack when his phone rang a few seconds later. 

“Ha!” Isak cried as Even groaned and rolled off of him. He grabbed his phone and answered it without even looking at the caller ID. “Hello?” 

“Where the fuck were you last night?” Sana asked immediately and Isak winced, pulling the phone away from his ear and putting it on speaker so that Even could hear it too. 

“We were at The Inferno,” Isak answered easily. “Following Eva—just like we told you.” Even looked up at him curiously, but Isak just shrugged. 

Sana sighed heavily into the phone. “Are you lying to me?” she asked after a second. “Or are you just _that bad_ at your job?” 

“I’m not lying to you, Sana. What the fuck?!” Isak cried, but Even held out a hand to silence him from going any further. 

“We stayed at the club until almost one,” Even explained, his tone much more diplomatic. “Why? Did something happen?” 

“Did something happen?!” Sana sputtered out indignantly and for the second time, Isak winced. Fuck, they were in trouble. “Yes, something fucking happened. A girl was almost kidnapped!” 

“Almost?” Even repeated and that seemed to calm her down slightly. 

“Almost,” she confirmed. “Shit, guys. This is bad.” 

Isak could hear the panic in her voice and he turned his worried gaze to Even only to see his own fear reflected back at him. “Talk to us, Sana,” Isak said. “Tell us what happened.” 

Sana took a second to gather her thoughts and then began. “The details are fuzzy,” she said—because of course they were. “But from what I could gather from the local authorities, a newlywed named Ingrid Gaupseth walked out of the club to get some air, probably not long after you two left. All she remembers is walking out the side door and then everything went black.” 

“Chloroform?” Isak asked because it was consistent with the other victims’ statements. 

“Yeah,” Sana agreed. “God, she was so lucky. Right when she went down, someone else walked outside to smoke and the perpetrator took off.” 

“Did you get a description?” Even cut in. 

“Male,” Sana replied. “That’s all. It was dark outside and the witness was barely sober enough to give a coherent statement to the cops, so—” 

“But everyone’s fine?” Isak confirmed. “No one was taken?” 

Sana gave another long sigh. “No one was taken,” she admitted. “But somehow the media got a hold of this and—well, the cat’s out of the bag now. It’s everywhere. Whoever is doing this is bound to be spiraling. They announced _on air_ that they’re bringing in backup, so if this guy is going to do anything, it has to be soon. I need you to be _extra_ vigilant tonight. We can’t let him slip through our fingers twice.” 

Even stayed on the phone with her for a little while longer, asking questions and talking through suspects, but Isak removed himself from the conversation and got up to get dressed. He felt uneasy in a way that he hadn’t all week. There was a sense of impending doom hanging over his head and he didn’t want to face it naked. Despite his uneasiness, however, he did preen a bit when he heard Even stutter over his words at the sight of Isak’s bare ass crawling out of bed. 

When Isak returned from the bathroom, Even had already hung up the phone. They turned to each other helplessly. 

“What do we do?” Isak asked into the air of uncertainty. 

Even shrugged. “We find out if anyone saw anything.” 

* 

They talked to Eva first—both because she was the most likely to know what was happening at her own resort and because she was the first person they saw once they stepped out of the elevator. She was manning the check-in counter, just like she had been on the day they arrived, but her hair was in tangles and there were dark circles around her eyes. Isak felt a little bad for adding to her stress, but Even didn’t even hesitate before walking up to the counter. Eva gave him a wobbly smile. 

“Good morning, Mr. Andersen. How may I help you?” 

Even leaned over the counter so that they could talk quietly. “I hate to ask, but we were watching the news this morning and we’re a little concerned, to be honest.” 

Her reply came immediately with the air of someone putting on a brave face for the cameras. “There is absolutely nothing you need to worry about,” she assured them. “We’ve hired extra security for all nighttime activities and…” 

She continued droning on about the police investigations and the employee background checks, but Isak wasn’t listening. Instead, he watched her expressions, trying to find something behind her eyes that she wasn’t saying aloud. All he found was fear. Isak sighed and tried something different. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, interrupting Eva’s speech. Her mouth snapped shut and she looked up at him in surprise, her eyes suspiciously shiny. 

“Yeah, no, I’m fine,” she said after a long pause, waving him off as if the idea was ridiculous. When he continued to stare at her, however, her facade broke just enough for him to see the panic building underneath the surface like a wave about to crash to shore. “I’m just a bit overwhelmed,” she admitted. “Listen, if you want to check out early, we can refund the extra days, but I promise you that everything is handled. The police know what they’re doing. I think they have a suspect already.” 

Isak and Even both knew that wasn’t true, but they chose not to argue with her further. “Well, thank you,” Even said, grabbing Isak’s hand like they were about to leave. “That makes us feel much better. Doesn’t it, babe?” Isak didn’t have words, so he just nodded, and Eva gave them that wobbly smile once more. 

“What do you think?” Even asked under his breath once they were far enough away that Eva couldn’t hear. Isak shrugged. 

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But I think she looked too freaked out to be the person behind all of this. She looked completely lost.” 

“Yeah,” Even agreed, looking back over his shoulder towards the check-in counter. “Either that or she’s just a really good actress.” 

* 

They spent the rest of the day having eerily similar conversations with the rest of the hotel staff. It quickly became obvious that they had been fed a script and they were all sticking to it word-for-word. None of them seemed as freaked out as Eva though, but Isak supposed they had much less to lose. 

The resort was having a fireworks show at the beach that night, so after their dinner—where they were assured for the fifth time that “everything is being taken care of”—they made their way down to the shore. They debated going back to the club, but they both agreed that any criminal that had avoided capture for this long wouldn’t dare try the same trick two nights in a row. It was much more likely that if they were going to do anything, they would do it at the resort where there were fewer witnesses and less law enforcement. 

They were both in their bathing suits, trying to blend in, but they hadn’t even gotten out of the pool area to the beach beyond before Isak caught sight of Jonas closing down the bar for the night. 

“You go on ahead,” he said, stopping in his tracks. Even glanced over at him and then followed his gaze across the yard to Jonas. “I just want to ask him a few questions and I think he might actually talk to me.” When he looked back up, Even was watching him warily, but he quickly schooled his features into something more neutral and nodded. He did not, however, let go of Isak’s hand. 

“I’ll go with you,” he decided, but Isak just rolled his eyes and wrestled out of his grip. 

“No, you won’t. He’s not going to talk to me if you’re there,” he said and they both knew it was true. Even frowned, his gaze tracking back to Jonas once more. “It’s fine, Even,” Isak assured him. “There are people everywhere. Just get us a good cabana and I’ll be down in a second, okay?” 

Even still didn’t look happy about the plan, but when Isak pressed a soft kiss to his lips, he did kiss back—albeit a little harder than Isak had originally intended. “Just hurry up,” he said, his blue eyes pleading. “If you’re not back in ten minutes, I’m coming to find you.” He reached out and squeezed Isak’s hand one last time before joining the crowd that was heading down to the beach. Isak took a deep breath and turned in the opposite direction. 

If Jonas heard him approach, he certainly didn’t show it. He just kept wiping down the bar and stowing dirty glasses in crates to be brought back to the kitchen. It was only when Isak cleared his throat that Jonas looked over his shoulder. 

“Hi,” Isak greeted, lowering his eyes shyly. He was trying to come off as flirtatious because it seemed that was what Jonas responded to best, but he thought his attempt might have fallen flat. He had been trained in stealth and espionage, but it still felt dishonest to flirt with someone who wasn’t Even when that was all he had been doing for days. 

“Hi, Isak,” Jonas smirked, like he already knew what he was going to say. “Bar’s closed.” 

“No, I know,” Isak replied, leaning against the counter at Jonas’s elbow. Jonas’s smirk only widened. “I was just…” he trailed off, trying to figure out what to say next, but eventually just dropped his act altogether and approached Jonas like a friend instead. “Look, what the fuck is going on? We woke up and there were cops everywhere. People are talking about a kidnapping?” 

“ _Attempted_ kidnapping,” Jonas corrected, turning his back to Isak to finish wiping down the bar that they were leaning against. “But there’s no need to worry. Everything is being taken care of,” he said the last part sarcastically, smirking over his shoulder, clearly aware that Isak had been getting the exact same spiel all day. 

“Are you going to tell me what really happened or not?” 

Jonas huffed out a laugh, but nodded. Isak got the feeling that he enjoyed being the center of attention. “There’s not much to tell,” he admitted. “After Julian left, I didn’t see anything else suspicious all night—but then again, the place was pretty packed when everything went down and I was busy at the bar. What I will say, though—” He broke off and looked all the way around him like he was scared someone might overhear. When he turned back to Isak, he spoke in a whisper. “Vilde had been talking to Ingrid and her new wife _all night_. And once all of the commotion started, I didn’t see Magnus anywhere.” He shrugged, acting nonchalant, and Isak knew that it might be nothing—knew that the more logical explanation was that they were just seeking out another couple to join in on their “couple activities”—but he would be remiss if he didn’t at least check it out. 

“The news said that this has been going on for a while,” Isak prompted, but Jonas just took it in stride. 

“Almost a month now,” he agreed. “And they’ve been here the whole time. She was close to Noora too—before she disappeared. But what do I know? That’s for the cops to figure out.” 

Isak had more questions, but none that wouldn’t arouse suspicion. Plus, his Even-imposed ten-minute time limit was about to expire. 

“Hopefully soon,” he offered and Jonas nodded his agreement. 

“Preferably before Eva has to close the resort and I lose my job.” 

The sky was growing darker by the second and the crowd trickling out towards the beach was getting smaller. Isak used that as his excuse to leave. “I should probably go so I don’t miss the fireworks,” he said and Jonas smiled. 

“Have fun,” he waved. “Try not to get kidnapped.” 

Isak walked to the sand lost in thought but had to stop once he got there to pull his shoes off before continuing on, holding them in his hands. Once he got to the row of cabanas, he looked down them, searching for Even. It was properly dark now, the beach only lit with tiki torches and the light of the moon. When he finally found Even, he was leaning half out of the cabana, waving him over. There was something off about his expression, but Isak didn’t realize what it was until he was standing too close to turn back. 

“Fucking hell,” he muttered, watching as Vilde and Magnus told what looked like a very well-rehearsed story in tandem. “They’re fucking everywhere.” 

Vilde greeted him before Even could. “Hi, Isak,” she smiled. “How nice to see you!” 

Isak greeted both her and Magnus as politely as he could manage and then sat down next to Even who reached out to rest his ring-clad hand on Isak’s knee. Without even thinking about it, Isak leaned heavily into his side, deciding that public displays of affection were perfectly acceptable when you were on your honeymoon. 

Vilde and Magnus continued what seemed to be their very thorough description of what had happened at the club the night before, but after tuning in for only a second, Isak realized that none of the information was relevant. According to them, they hadn’t actually _seen_ anything and honestly? Isak wasn’t quite sure what to believe anymore. 

They were still talking when the first fireworks shot off and they all turned their attention to the sky as everyone around them ooh-ed and aww-ed. Isak jumped, the sound devastatingly loud to his ears, but he quickly recovered. Next to him, however, Even stiffened, and as the next round of cracked lightning filled the sky, he still didn’t relax. Isak immediately reached for his hand, forcing his attention back to him instead and then turned to Vilde and Magnus. 

“It was nice talking to you,” he said, trying extra hard not to sound rude. “We’re going to enjoy the show, but we’ll...see you later?” 

Vilde seemed to have enough tact to recognize the dismissal for what it was, so she gave them a tight-lipped smile and then stood, pulling Magnus to his feet and dragging him back to their own cabana a few rows down. 

“You okay?” Isak asked as soon as they were gone, cupping Even’s face in his hands and forcing him to look at him. His eyes were unfocused and Isak’s heart tripped over itself in panic. “Even,” he repeated a bit louder this time. “Look at me.” It took a few seconds but finally, after what felt like a lifetime, Isak could tell that Even was finally _seeing_ him. They both jumped as another barrage of what sounded like bullet-fire rent the air. “Are you okay?” 

Even swallowed hard and blinked several times before nodding. “Yeah,” he finally said. “I’m fine. It just took me by surprise, that’s all.” Isak narrowed his eyes doubtfully, but Even just smiled. “Seriously, Isak,” he said, kissing him on the forehead. “I’m okay. I would tell you if I wasn’t.” 

Isak had no choice but to believe him even though he couldn’t imagine the sound was pleasant when it brought back so many bad memories. He couldn’t make the sound go away entirely, but he thought he might be able to deafen it a bit. He laid down on the sunbed and pulled Even onto his chest so he could cradle him there and soothe him with the sound of his heartbeat. Even went willingly, wrapping his arm around Isak’s waist as they both stared up at the multicolored lights flashing across the sky. After a few minutes, Isak could feel Even's pulse start to slow, and his whole body came alive when Even placed the gentlest of kisses on his bare collarbone as if he were thanking him. 

“Did you get anything out of Vilde and Magnus?” Isak asked. He felt the vibration of Even’s contemplative hum through his shirt. 

“Not much,” he admitted, tilting his head up so that their eyes met. “But Magnus did mention that they saw Julian sneak back in before everything happened.” Isak frowned. He doubted Jonas knew that or he would be livid. “What about Jonas?” 

“He thinks Vilde and Magnus have something to do with it,” he shrugged. 

**__**

Even snorted. “You’re kidding me?” 

“To be fair,” Isak said, “me and you thought it was them a few days ago. And are we sure it’s not? They’re everywhere!” 

“It’s not a crime to be friendly,” Even argued. 

“No,” Isak muttered. “But maybe it should be.” 

He hadn’t expected Even to hear him, but he must have because he propped himself up on his elbow and scowled down at him, unimpressed. Above them, there was a thunderous crash and Even once again jumped. He closed his eyes afterward like he was embarrassed and then wriggled out of Isak’s hold to sit up and bury his head in his hands. 

“Even?” Isak asked, sitting up alongside him and running a soothing hand down his arm. 

“I’m okay,” Even repeated. “But I do think I need a little break. Can you keep an eye out here for a few minutes? One of us needs to talk to Julian anyway and I want to do it before he leaves for the night.” 

**__**

Although Isak was reluctant to separate, he nodded. “Yeah, okay,” he agreed and then smirked as he thought back to what Even had told him earlier. “But if you’re not back in ten minutes, I’m coming to find you.” 

Even rolled his eyes and stood, brushing some stray sand off of his bathing suit. “Fifteen,” he bargained with a smile, that familiar sparkle now back in his eyes. He leaned down one last time and pressed his lips against Isak’s. He tried to make it quick, but Isak tangled his fingers into his hair and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss until they were forced to pull away for air. 

“Be careful,” Isak said, butterflies still fluttering around his stomach. “I heard people are getting kidnapped out there.” 

Even pushed Isak’s head down playfully and Isak just let him, smiling all the while. “Pay attention,” he laughed, pointing Isak towards the shoreline. “Maybe you’ll be better at your job when I’m not around to distract you.” He was joking, but Isak thought he was probably right anyway. He looked up at him one last time, feeling more content than he had in a long while, and then watched as Even turned away and disappeared into the night with only the echo of his laugh left behind. 

**__**

Isak waited for an hour, but Even never came back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, yes I know this isn't _actually_ how chloroform works, but it is how it works in TV shows and movies and my search history was getting a bit too sketch, so that’s what we’re going with so I don’t get arrested.
> 
> Also, I am _so_ sorry for the cliffhanger. I swear I'll try to update fast.


	9. Chapter 9

After fifteen minutes, Isak started to suspect that something might be wrong, but he suppressed his paranoia and continued watching the fireworks. After forty-five, he knew it for sure. It was like there had been a tether between him and Even keeping them connected even when they were apart, but now it had snapped. Isak could feel that loss in his gut and it was an ugly, cancerous thing, making his heart race and the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. For the first time since the night Mikael died, he was truly scared, but he forced himself to stay calm. 

He stood on shaky legs and looked first for the people he _didn’t_ see. Vilde was sitting in her cabana alone, sipping on a margarita with one pinky in the air, but Magnus was nowhere in sight. Eva was there though, talking to Mahdi at the makeshift bar they’d assembled, and no one seemed to have any idea that Isak's world was crumbling around him. 

He took a mental snapshot of what he was seeing so that he could relay it to Sana and then grabbed his sandals and began trekking back to the resort. He pulled his phone out of his pocket as he walked and dialed Even once, then twice, then three times before deciding that he wasn’t going to answer. As he walked, he took stock of everything: the footprints in the sand, the couples making out by the pool, the fucking security cameras everywhere that apparently didn’t work. By the time he walked into the building, he was a tangled mess of anger and anxiety. 

The lobby was surprisingly quiet when he walked through. The bellboys had probably already been sent home for the night and the only staff left was a young woman sitting at the concierge desk. She smiled at him politely and then turned back to her magazine. Isak was in such a rush to get back to his room to check whether Even was there that he almost blew right past her. Thankfully, his investigative instincts kicked in before he reached the elevators. 

“Hi, sorry to bother you,” he said, approaching the desk. “I’m looking for my husband? Super tall? Blonde? He was a bit tipsy when he wandered off of the beach and I can’t seem to find him.” 

The girl chuckled, clearly not understanding the gravity of the situation. “He didn’t come through here,” she promised with a smile. “No one’s come through here since the fireworks started.” 

It took Isak a few seconds, but eventually he fought off his numbness and nodded. “Thank you,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. 

As he headed towards the elevator he tried not to think about what that meant. If Even hadn’t even made it into the building, then he had been abducted right under Isak’s nose by someone lying in wait for them to separate. His stomach lurched as his dinner threatened to make a reappearance. He felt physically ill at the thought of Even in danger. They shouldn’t have split up. Isak should have gone looking for him after fifteen minutes like he promised. What if Even was in pain? What if he was expecting Isak to swoop in and save him, but Isak wasn’t there? 

What if he was asleep in their bedroom? 

Isak sighed and pressed the button for the second floor harder, hoping for the first time in his life that he was just overreacting. 

When he got there, he flipped the lights on, expecting the room to be in chaos, but everything was exactly how he’d left it—all except for a white piece of paper sitting ominously in the center of the bed. Isak rushed for it, not even thinking about fingerprints and evidence before he picked it up and read. 

The ransom note was clinical, like a grocery list. There were no narcissistic claims, no taunts. It was identical to the ransom notes left at the other abductions—all business, without ever mentioning Isak or Even by name. That was the kind of thing that hadn’t seemed important when he was reading the notes as an outside observer, but now that the note was meant for him, it stung not to be acknowledged. To know that he was just another means to an end. That Even was just some guy off of the street, easily disposable. 

Isak sat down hard on the bed and read over the note one more time, searching for clues, but the most personal bit of information he could find was the abductor’s bank account number, ready and waiting for Isak’s half-million dollar deposit. The ransom had gone up, but that wasn’t surprising considering that whoever was doing this now knew that they were running out of time. 

Anger was boiling like lava inside of him, ready to erupt, and he threw the ransom note across the room just to have some sort of outlet for it. The note fluttered to the floor peacefully and that only made him madder, so he screamed until it hurt and then buried his head in his hands, trying to keep from crying. This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t fucking happening. He didn’t finally get together with Even only to have him taken away again. 

His mind was running in two different directions, half towards logic and half towards love. He wanted to tear himself apart and send half to Even so that he would know he was with him. That was what bothered him the most: thinking about Even scared and alone. He took another few deep breaths, trying to calm himself, and then picked up his phone once more. 

“It’s late, Isak,” Sana groaned once she picked up. “What do you want?” 

When Isak spoke, his voice was steady. “Are you still at the precinct?” 

“Yeah,” Sana replied and he could hear her footsteps like she was walking back to her office. “What do you need?” 

“I need you to check the location of Even’s GPS tracker.” 

“Why? Did you lose him?” she joked and Isak had to swallow hard before answering. 

“They took him,” he admitted. “We separated about an hour ago and he never came back. When I got back to the room, there was a ransom note on the bed.” 

Sana was quiet for a second too long, like she wasn’t quite sure whether he was joking or not. He waited the silence out, knowing that would tell her more than any words could. “What the fuck?” she cried. 

“You wanted us to be bait, right?” he asked, letting the bitterness from that very first day in her office seep back into his voice. “Well, here we fucking are.” 

“That’s not what I—” She started, but seemed to know better than to argue. “Shit, okay. Just let me check.” Isak could hear her typing on the other end of the line and every press of the keys felt like a hammer against his skull. “Um, it’s at the hotel,” she finally said. Isak closed his eyes in defeat. “Right next to yours actually. So unless they’ve got him hiding in the basement directly under you...” 

“He’s not wearing it,” Isak finished for her, slapping his hand down hard on the mattress. “Fuck. We were at the beach. He probably didn’t want it to get wet.” Isak hadn’t been wearing his either. It was a dumb mistake, but he couldn’t exactly blame him for it. “Sana what the fuck are we going to do? They’re asking for half a million now.” 

“We can pay it if it comes to that, Isak. I promise you,” she assured him. “We won’t let anything happen to him, but I think...I think we need to keep this to ourselves without getting the local authorities involved. That’s only going to tie you up in interrogations.” 

“Yeah, I’m not an idiot,” he snapped and then immediately felt bad about it. He ran his hand over his face to try to soothe his aching head. 

“Okay,” she replied, never once raising her voice. “When do they want the money by?” 

Isak shifted uncomfortably on the bed as the clock started counting down. “Forty-eight hours.” 

“Then we’ve got forty-eight hours to figure this out,” she said confidently. “Do you have any idea who—?” 

“Yeah, I’ve got some ideas,” Isak interrupted. “Not many, but I’m going to go talk to people. See what I can find out.” He paused and sighed heavily at the prospect of talking to anyone after the night he’d had. “God, is it completely ridiculous that I wish it had been me? Not even for any heroic reason—I just really don’t want to have to deal with people right now.” 

“It’s harder to be the one left behind,” Sana assured him. “Just take it one step at a time, Isak. I’m getting on the next plane out there and I’ll put Elias in charge here if you need anything while I’m in the air. Send us a copy of the ransom note and we’ll do what we can from this end. We have time. Just breathe.” She paused and took a deep breath herself. “You do us no favors if you’re out there making dumb mistakes.” 

Isak knew Sana was about to hang up and he was suddenly overcome with emotion at the thought of doing this alone. For the first time all night, he felt tears prickling his eyes and before he could mask that emotion, a single sob escaped just loud enough for Sana to hear. 

“Isak,” she breathed, her voice full of sympathy. On anyone else, it would have sounded condescending, but not on Sana. Through everything he’d gone through with Even, she had been his one constant. 

“I love him,” he admitted and it felt big even though he knew it wasn’t a secret. _I should have said it before_ , he realized. _When he was here to hear it._

He heard Sana’s breath catch in her throat. “I know you do,” she said after a second, her voice breaking. A tear slipped from Isak’s eye and he wiped it away hastily. “We’re going to get him back. Call me as soon as you know something.” 

Isak hung up the phone and did as Sana asked, snapping a picture of the ransom letter and sending it to her without commentary. He then changed out of his beach clothes and dug through his suitcase to pull out the gun that he had prayed he wouldn’t have to use. He checked to make sure it was loaded and then stowed it in the waistband of his jeans. He wasn’t taking any chances. Not this time. 

* 

It was sheer luck that Eva was at the concierge desk when Isak made his way back downstairs because he wasn’t sure what he would have done otherwise. She still looked frazzled, but she was smiling like the stress from that morning had finally started to fade. Not for the first time in the past hour, he wished Even was there because he was much better at breaking bad news gently. 

When he stepped up to the desk, Eva turned to him immediately. “Hi, Mr. Andersen. What can I help you with tonight?” 

Isak didn’t bother to sugarcoat it. “My husband is missing.” 

Eva blinked several times, trying to process what he had just said. Isak waited for it to click. “Missing?” she asked, glancing over at her computer like she might find the answers there. “I’m sure he just stepped out for a bit. We could try—” 

“He’s _missing_ ,” Isak repeated, pulling the ransom note out of his pocket and sliding it across the desk to her. The color drained from her face so fast that Isak worried she might actually pass out. She didn’t pause before picking up the phone next to her. 

“I’ll call the cops,” she said, but Isak grabbed her wrist to stop her before she could dial. 

“I don’t want you to do that,” he whispered and she froze, her eyes wide. “And I know you don’t want to do that either. It’s bad for business. If people find out there’s been _another_ kidnapping, your already sparse reservations are going to get sparser. You’ll have to close down.” Eva swallowed and hung the phone back up, but she didn’t look happy. She looked like Isak was blackmailing her. Maybe he was. “All I want from you is your security tapes,” he continued. Eva opened her mouth to argue, but Isak barreled on, begging this time. “Please. I know you’ve said that your cameras aren’t working, but there’s gotta be something. I just want to know that he’s alive.” 

Eva’s whole body wilted and Isak knew immediately that he was right. “Okay,” she said, motioning for him to join her on the other side of the counter. She looked over both shoulders to make sure no one was watching them despite the fact that she was the one in charge. “We have _one_ ,” she admitted, leading him to her office. “I had it installed without telling anyone because all of the other cameras were getting trashed. There might not be anything on it, but we can check.” 

Her office looked exactly the same as it had when Isak and Even were searching through it before and Isak couldn’t help but flash back to them chatting casually about sex positions. His stomach plummeted at the reminder as Eva pushed past him and began clicking around on her computer. Isak resisted the temptation to watch over her shoulder and instead stood back a little, not wanting her to think that he was spying. 

“What are you going to do if we find something?” she asked as she waited for the program to load. When she looked up at him, her eyes were full of worry—for her business or Even, he wasn’t sure. 

Isak shrugged. “I don’t fucking know,” he admitted. “I guess I’ll decide that once I know what we have.” 

Eva was quiet for a few seconds, but she never stopped staring. Isak had to resist the impulse to break eye contact first. “You seem very calm for someone whose husband has just been kidnapped,” she noted, which was probably fair. 

He wasn’t sure why, but he told her the truth. “We’ve been through worse.” Her frown deepened, but she didn’t question him further and turned back to her computer instead. 

“Okay, here it is,” she said a minute later and Isak finally approached so that he could see the screen. 

“Where’s the camera?” he asked. 

“Out by the loading bay. I figured if nothing else, it would come in handy if I ever had an employee stealing stock. What time do you want me to scroll to?” 

“Um, 8-ish?” 

Eva scrolled until the grainy black-and-white image of the loading dock came into view. It was the same one Isak and Even had staked out a few days before while they were trying to get a read on Eva, only now it was empty. Or, well, _almost_ empty. In the distance, almost out of sight of the camera, was a supply van with the Paradise logo painted onto the side. 

“Is that usually there?” he asked, turning to Eva to try to read her expression. Her mouth was open in surprise, but when she caught Isak looking, she closed it. 

“No,” she admitted, shaking her head. “At least not this late at night.” 

“And who has access to those vans?” 

“Any of the employees,” she replied. “But they have to sign it out to get the key. Hold on. I’ll go get the log book. It’s at the desk.” 

She stood and Isak took her vacated seat as she left the room. He kept his eyes glued to the screen, determined not to miss anything—no matter how small—just in case it might be a clue. He increased the scrubbing speed when it became obvious that nothing of interest was happening, but soon had to stop when he saw movement around the corner of the building. At first he thought it was just an animal of some sort, but then the figure stepped into full view of the camera and Isak’s heart tripped over itself at what he saw. 

It was a man with a hood pulled over his face lugging Even’s body to the supply van. Even’s arm was thrown over his shoulder and from a distance, it almost looked like it was just someone helping a drunk friend to their car, but when you looked closer, it became obvious that Even wasn’t supporting his own weight at all. He was unconscious. 

Isak had to fight back the bile rising in his throat because even though he knew it wasn’t how this guy operated, Even _looked_ dead. He wasn’t moving, he wasn’t fighting back. It scared Isak that he was so still. 

The video was hard to watch, but Isak forced himself to finish it. The hooded figure opened the back of the van and threw Even inside unceremoniously before slamming the door shut once more. Isak quickly memorized the license plate number, although if it belonged to the resort, it wasn’t going to do him much good. Then, without ever once showing his face to the camera, the kidnapper climbed into the front seat of the van and drove off as if he were just on an ordinary delivery. Once he was out of sight, Isak turned off the video and took several deep breaths to steady himself. 

When he opened his eyes again, Eva was standing in the doorway. “Did you find anything?” she asked. He couldn’t tell whether she sounded more wary or hopeful. 

“Yeah,” he admitted. “You’ve got the kidnapping on tape. Did you find the logs?” 

Eva, her face once again very pale, nodded and passed them over. “There’s only one that hasn’t been checked back in,” she said, pointing. Isak found the van’s license plate number and then followed it across to get the name of his new lead suspect. He felt his face crumble as he read it aloud, knowing that even if everything worked out perfectly in the end, Even was never going to let him live this one down: “Jonas Vasquez.” 

* 

Isak knew there was nothing he could do until morning—knew that trying to find Even in the dark without a clue as to where he could be would only put _him_ in danger—but that didn’t make the waiting any easier. He didn’t even bother trying to sleep because sleep wasn’t something that came easily to him unless Even was by his side. So he just laid there, staring at the ceiling, waiting for the sun to rise. 

He tried not to think too much, but it was impossible not to. Logically, he knew Even was probably fine. All of the other victims had been returned unharmed, but there was this nagging voice at the back his mind that kept reminding him of the horrible things criminals liked to do to cops. But he knew Even didn’t have his badge on him—because he had checked—and that at least settled his worry somewhat. 

He ran through suspects and clues and that mental snapshot he had taken on the beach, trying to figure things out. They had taught him in school that the most obvious answer was usually the right one and the most obvious answer here was Jonas. Isak’s gut, however, was telling him that couldn’t possibly be right. Isak had been with him when the rings were stolen that day by the pool and when Jonas had kicked Julian out of the club the night before, he looked _livid._ Plus, he seemed too carefree to be secretly running an underground money-making scheme of this scale. Not to mention the fact that he was _nice_ —at least to Isak—but then again, Even had never liked him and Isak felt like he should defer to his judgment since he wasn’t there to defend himself. 

Just to have something to do, Isak pulled Even’s computer out from under the bed with the intention of listening to the recordings from Vilde and Magnus’s room just in case there was something there, but when he opened the laptop, he froze upon seeing the picture Even was using as his desktop background. 

It was a screenshot from Snapchat and it looked like Mikael had sent it because it was a selfie of him in the foreground rolling his eyes at an unknowing Isak and Even behind him who were cuddled close to each other in a booth at the bar. It was captioned “‘Just friends.’” 

Isak immediately recognized the scene even though he’d never seen the picture before because he still remembered everything about that night—the night before their worlds changed forever. In the picture, Isak was mid-conversation, gesturing wildly as he explained the theory of parallel universes to Even who was watching him with a soft smile on his face. Isak remembered getting frustrated when he finished his speech because Even hadn’t been listening at all. 

“I was distracted,” he had said, reaching out to push a stray curl off of Isak’s forehead. “ _You’re_ distracting.” Isak rolled his eyes and swatted him away. 

Somehow Mikael had captured the playfulness of that moment and Isak’s heart leapt uncomfortably in his chest like it was trying to reach for Even across the space that separated them and bring him comfort. 

Isak closed the laptop again without listening to the tapes at all and instead curled up against the pillow that smelled like Even and tried to get some sleep. 

* 

Everyone was at breakfast the next morning. Everyone. Every single suspect. All were acting normal, either eating or working with smiles on their faces. Isak had expected something more profound. He had expected to be able to look at the people gathered and find one that was jumpier than the rest—maybe someone with bags under their eyes, someone looking around every corner, inhaling coffee to keep themselves awake. The fact that Even’s kidnapper was in the same room as him, acting as if nothing was wrong, lit a fire under Isak that burned white hot. He was mad that Even was gone and he was also mad that he had been left alone. What if the sedative wore off and he woke up scared? What if they’d overdosed him on some sort of drug and his heart stopped? 

Isak closed his eyes and shook his head to clear his thoughts. He didn’t have time to worry about that now. Instead, he stepped out to the pool area where Jonas had disappeared a few minutes earlier and approached the bar where he and Mahdi were setting up for the day. 

“Little early for alcohol, isn’t it?” Mahdi joked when he caught sight of him. Isak rolled his eyes good-naturedly, having to fight everything inside of him to pretend like he was okay. When Jonas turned, he smiled as well, his face giving nothing away. 

“It’s never too early for alcohol,” Isak quipped. “But that’s actually not what I’m here for. I think I left my sunglasses down by the water last night, but I couldn’t find them when I went to check. Do you have a lost-and-found or something? Eva said to ask you.” 

“Um, yeah,” Jonas said after thinking about it for a second. “It’s behind the bar. Hold on.” 

He walked around the bar and pulled out a cardboard box, which he then passed across the counter to Isak, pushing the sleeves of his jacket up as he did so. Isak hadn’t thought it odd that he was wearing a jacket since the wind coming off of the water was brutal in the mornings, but when Jonas moved, it drew attention to his arms and the four vertical scratches running down the length of them. They were deep—deep enough to draw blood—and Isak couldn’t keep the shock off of his face as he looked back up at Jonas. 

For a brief second, Isak thought he saw a flicker of terror behind his eyes, but it was gone as quick as it came. He pushed the sleeves of his jacket back down as if nothing was amiss and Isak had no choice but to swallow the fear building inside of him and turn back to the box. He grabbed the first pair of sunglasses he saw, hoping that they weren’t too expensive since they most definitely were not his. 

“There they are,” he said, trying to sound relieved when he was more anxious than he had ever been. “Thanks.” Then, without offering even a farewell, he left them, his fists clenched so tightly at his sides that when he finally let them go, there were four half-moon shaped imprints pressed into his palms. 

* 

Isak didn’t let Jonas out of his sight for the rest of the day because he knew that was his ticket to finding Even. Wheedling information out of people was Even’s thing, but stealth? That Isak could do. 

He kept a good distance between them, not wanting Jonas to get suspicious, but he was starting to think his absence was conspicuous in and of itself. Jonas kept glancing over his shoulders like he was just waiting to be caught and it made Isak feel a little better that he could cause him even a fraction of the uneasiness that he had caused him. 

Jonas didn’t leave the resort until after dinner and even then it was only to drive the short distance to the bar across town. Isak didn’t bother going in after him, just parked his car in a dark alley across the street and waited for him to resurface. He thought about Even to keep himself sane—about his blue eyes and his bright smile and the way he kissed Isak like he was his whole world. 

Jonas walked back out of the bar forty-five minutes later and Isak’s heart immediately started pounding in his chest because he knew this was it. If Jonas truly was the kidnapper, he would lead Isak to Even. He climbed into his truck, once again looking over both shoulders, and drove. Isak waited until he had a decent head start before cranking his own car and following. 

Summer Hope was a small town, but it wasn’t small enough that there was no one else on the road. That, plus the dark, served Isak well as Jonas drove out of town so far that the paved roads turned to dirt. When he eventually pulled into the drive of what looked like an abandoned distillery, Isak parked in a ditch a little ways away—out of sight—and grabbed his phone to call Sana. 

She picked up on the second ring, but Isak didn’t even give her time to say hello. “I know where he’s keeping Even,” he said, cradling his phone to his shoulder so that he could check that his gun was still loaded. It was. 

“What?!” Sana cried. “How? _Who_?” 

Isak didn’t have time to waste on the details so he only gave her what would be needed to make an arrest if he didn’t make it back. “The guy’s name is Jonas Vasquez. I don’t have a confession yet, but I know it’s him. I’ve been following him all day and he just stopped at an abandoned distillery on the outskirts of town. I’ll send you the coordinates. Even’s in there. I know he is.” 

“Okay,” Sana said after several seconds, panic building in her voice. “We’ll send a team out. We’ll—” Isak didn’t mean to, but he let out a growl deep in his throat and it immediately tipped Sana off that something was wrong. She always had been able to read him a little bit too well. “Isak, you are _not_ going in there alone. I’m in the city. We’ve got a SWAT team already waiting. Just let me—” 

“He knows I know, Sana,” Isak snapped, knowing that there was nothing she could say to change his mind. “I can’t wait.” 

“Isak, please listen to me,” she pleaded and he closed his eyes tight, not wanting to hear it. “We’re talking fifteen minutes here. Remember what happened the last time someone went into a building without backup? Think about what it would do to Even if he lost you in the same way he lost Mikael.” 

Isak did think about it, but he also thought about what it would do to him if he lost Even while he was sitting mere yards away, waiting for help that might be too late. “Well let’s hope we don’t have to find out,” he said and then hung up without giving her a chance to argue. He did send her the coordinates though because he wasn’t a complete idiot. 

The walk up to the distillery was dark. There were no streetlights and even the stars seemed dull in the overcast sky. Isak double-checked that the safety was clicked off on his gun and then crept closer, listening closely for any signs of Jonas. His truck was parked right next to the building, but it was empty. And although the thought of stepping foot inside alone squeezed at Isak’s lungs until he couldn’t breathe, he knew that he didn’t have a choice. He found the side door and pressed his ear against it for several long seconds. When he heard nothing, he gently pried it open, his heart thudding uncomfortably in his chest at the small _creak_ it emitted, and then he stepped inside. 

He entered into a deserted hallway but saw the dim shine of lights in the distance—just enough to illuminate the dust-covered floor and keep him from running into anything that would make too much noise. His heart was beating so loudly that he felt sure anyone within a one-mile radius could hear it and every footstep seemed to echo like thunder in the abandoned building. 

Sweat was beading on Isak’s forehead and he was positive in that moment that he had made a mistake because despite the light, he was flying blind. Jonas could be anywhere. He could be watching him right now. He could have been watching him all along, baiting him, luring him to certain death. He fought against every instinct inside of him and stepped farther down the hallway, clearing rooms inch by excruciating inch, his breath coming in ragged pants as he tried to compose himself. 

He felt dizzy with anxiety and as his breathing started coming faster and faster in his panic, the walls closed in around him—trapping him in hell—but before they could engulf him completely, he heard a crash on the other side of the building and then Jonas’s voice, muttering curses to himself. It should have been nerve-wracking, knowing he was there, but it wasn’t. For the first time since he’d entered the building, Isak felt confident because now he knew that Jonas wasn’t following behind him, just waiting to press the barrel of a gun to the back of his head. Keeping his pace slow and steady—still determined not to make a sound—Isak moved towards the voice. 

He ended up standing just outside of what looked like it had once been the main processing room of the distillery. There were large metal cisterns against the walls and the whole place still had the faint taste of alcohol even though it looked like it had been empty for years. There were lights set up inside, casting ominous shadows around the room, but the shadows didn’t scare Isak. He had learned a long time ago that the real monsters didn’t live in nightmares—they lived in reality—and that had never been more obvious than when he spotted Even lying unconscious against the far wall while Jonas fiddled with some sort of radio just inside the door, his back to Isak. 

Isak didn’t stop to think. All he knew was that he might only get one chance at this and if he could do it without having to fire his gun, that was preferable. He snuck up on Jonas from behind, holding his breath and walking on tiptoes to be as quiet as possible. He was lucky. The static from the radio drowned out the sound of his footsteps and when Isak slammed the butt of his gun into Jonas’s head hard, he had no idea it was coming. He crumbled to the ground without even putting up a fight and as Isak’s adrenaline flooded his body, it was hard to believe that it was actually over. 

It was easy. _Too easy_ , almost, but he didn’t have time to question it. He checked for a pulse and then, once he found one, quickly patted down Jonas’s body, searching for a weapon. Surprisingly, he found nothing, so he grabbed a pair of rusted handcuffs out of his back pocket and slapped one end around Jonas’s wrist and the other on a pipe coming out of the wall. After that, he couldn’t hold himself back. Every cell in his body was crying out for Even and Isak ran to him, praying over and over that he was okay. Isak couldn’t lose him like this. He just couldn’t. 

He collapsed next to Even’s unconscious body and forced himself to release his death grip on his gun so that he could feel the heat of Even’s skin and know that he was still alive. He felt like crying at the sight of his chest rising and falling with each blessed breath of air. 

“Even,” he cried, using nimble fingers to untangle the ropes from first his wrists and then his ankles. He took stock of his body and was surprised to find that—just like the other victims—the only evidence of any sort of trauma was a faint rope burn around his wrists and the blood caked beneath his fingernails. “Even, you’ve gotta wake up for me.” He took the gag out of his mouth and set it aside before slapping his face lightly to try to bring him back to consciousness. Jonas had been at work for at least twelve hours. Isak didn’t know what kind of drugs he was using, but with any luck, they should be wearing off by now. “We’ve got to get you out of here.” Ever so slowly, Even’s eyes began to flicker open. 

Isak did cry then, burying his face in Even’s neck, and although Even clearly had no idea what was happening, he held Isak in his arms and soothed him like he was the one who needed it. “What’s going on?” he mumbled, his voice thick, but Isak was too overcome with emotion to respond. “Baby, where are we?” 

“God, Even, you have no idea—” he started, but before he could finish, he felt Even stiffen against him. He lifted his head, his whole body going cold, but before Isak could ask what was wrong—before he could reach for his own weapon, which he had so stupidly discarded—he heard the thunderous click of a gun being cocked from across the room. 

He kept his eyes on Even for a second longer, wanting to memorize him so that he could die thinking about the person who had brought him more happiness than he had ever thought possible. When he finally turned, he was only a little surprised to see Eva standing in front of him, looking just as distressed as she had the night before. Despite that, however, her hand was steady as she pointed a gun at them and death was looming in her eyes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who played along and made guesses about who the culprit was. I hope this reveal was at least somewhat surprising! (And I am once again sorry for the cliffhanger.)


	10. Chapter 10

“Stand up,” Eva ordered, but her voice was shaky like she didn’t quite know what she was doing. That gave Isak hope. “ _Now_.” 

He stood with a heavy sigh, watching carefully to make sure Even had the strength left to do the same. Thankfully he did, only wobbling a bit once he was already up as if his head was spinning from the sudden movement. Isak held his hands out to steady him, but couldn’t help the way his eyes drifted to the gun on the floor over Even’s shoulder—close enough to taunt him, but not close enough to reach. Eva followed his gaze. 

“Kick the gun over here,” she said and after Isak was satisfied that Even was supporting his own weight, he reluctantly did as asked, wincing at the sound of concrete scraping against metal as the gun slid across the floor. Eva didn’t even bother picking it up, just kicked it farther behind her so that neither of them had any chance to reach it. 

“Now, who are you?” she asked, licking a bead of sweat off of her upper lip. It was the middle of the summer and although it was dark outside, the humidity was unrelenting. The distillery not only lacked air conditioning, but it also seemed to lack adequate ventilation and Isak felt like he was roasting in his short-sleeve shirt. Eva was still in a pantsuit, fresh off of her shift at Paradise. 

“We’re cops,” Even answered before Isak had the chance to lie. Isak tensed up in shock, already prepared for the bullet he was sure was coming, but when he saw the way Eva’s face crumbled at Even’s proclamation, he knew he had made the right decision. She didn’t want to kill them, he realized, but he also knew that had never stopped anyone before. 

“And backup’s on the way,” Isak added. “I can hand you my phone if you want—show you the text messages. It’s too late, Eva. It’s over.” 

She shook her head like she refused to believe what he was saying and a single sob was ripped from her throat, but she quickly swallowed it back down. Through it all, her gun hand remained steady. “I didn’t want any of this to happen,” she cried desperately, looking over her shoulder at Jonas, who was still unconscious. It was the first time she had turned her attention away from them and Isak and Even exchanged a look—both trying to decide whether it was worth it to attempt to wrestle the gun from her by force—but before they could make a decision, she turned back around. “You have to believe me,” she begged. 

“You’re making that a little difficult,” Even said, stepping out from behind Isak for the first time. Eva turned the gun on him instead, but Isak didn’t feel any better to have it off of him. In fact, he felt worse. He’d seen Even get shot before and he didn’t think he could live through it a second time. Even didn’t even flinch. He held his hands high to show her that he wasn’t a threat and then walked far enough away from Isak that it would be difficult to shoot them both in rapid succession. He was buying Isak time just in case things went to hell. Isak hated him for being so selfless. “Innocent people don’t point guns at the police. I know you’re not the one who grabbed me,” he continued, glancing over at Jonas. “So how did you get involved in this? Maybe we can help.” 

Eva’s eyes were brimming with tears, but she angrily wiped them away and then—much to Isak’s surprise—started talking. “I needed the money,” she answered simply. “The resort was already drowning under mountains of debt when my father gave it to me and I did everything I could to keep it afloat, but it was hopeless. Pretty soon I was facing bankruptcy before the age of thirty and I panicked. I had been seeing Jonas and, well, he suggested…” She trailed off, but it didn’t take a genius to fill in the rest of that story. “It was just small things at first—rings, wallets, watches—but it wasn’t enough.” 

“Jonas wanted to do more,” Even deduced and even if it wasn't true, Eva latched onto that narrative and nodded, willing to agree to anything that took the blame off of her. 

“It was just supposed to be the one time," she explained. "I needed a quarter of a million to get out of debt and fucking William Magnussen was bragging loudly to anyone that would listen about the two million dollar wedding he’d just had. We thought it would be easy money. Jonas distracted William, I grabbed Noora, and then we brought her here and waited for the ransom. No one got hurt. No one suspected a thing. It was quick and easy and that was supposed to be the end of it.” 

“But he didn’t stop,” Isak realized. Eva shook her head. 

“He got greedy—he wanted more. He took the next one without telling me first and then said if I didn’t help, he was going to tell the cops everything. Things just spun out of control from there. I didn’t know he was going to take Even, I swear. I thought I had convinced him to stop.” The sad thing was that Isak really did believe her, but the fact that she was standing in front of them with a gun pointed in their faces didn’t speak highly of her innocence. She didn’t have to come here. She didn’t have to implicate herself. 

“You helped me find that video on your computer,” Isak noted. “Why would you do that?” He could feel Even watching him out of the corner of his eye, could feel their bodies reaching for each other, seeking comfort even though there was none to give. His heart was beating wildly like it was determined to squeeze a lifetime of beats into its last moments and Isak could barely hear himself speak over the blood pounding in his ears. 

At the sound of his voice, Eva swung the gun so that it was pointed at him instead of Even and Isak winced at the sudden movement, his heart tripping over itself in his chest. Even flinched like he wanted to lunge between the gun and Isak, but Isak held up a hand to stop him before he could. 

“I had no idea we would actually find anything,” she admitted, wilting under their attention. “Jonas had screwed up at the bar the night before. I didn’t think he’d risk anything else so soon—especially not with all of the extra security that _I_ hired. But when I realized that I had actually caught him on tape? I have to admit, I was a bit relieved. I could tell you suspected Jonas and I thought that maybe once you got Even back, you would tell the cops that I helped you. If it came down to my word against his, I thought they would probably believe me. I was careful. He hasn’t been.” 

“But you’re here now,” Isak pointed out. “That’s not exactly staying out of things. What changed your mind?” 

“I followed you here,” Eva answered helplessly. “And to be completely honest, I was kind of hoping you would just kill him and make all of my problems go away, but when you didn’t, everything crashed down on me at once. Best case scenario: Jonas tells the cops what actually happened and they don’t believe him. But even then my reputation will be ruined. The resort is going to go out of business and I’m going to be left with nothing. I’ve worked too hard for that to happen. I’ve sacrificed too much.” 

The fear slipped from her face as if she were willing it away and in its place, Isak saw her resolve harden. “You might have already called for backup,” she said, her voice firm and her hand steady, “but you didn’t tell them about me. They don’t know I’m here. If I—” She broke off, stumbling over her words for the first time, but she quickly recovered, her face pale in the dimly lit room. “If you were out of the picture, I could still run. I’ve got over a hundred thousand saved from the last kidnapping. I could disappear. My father would help me.” 

“Eva…” Even started, his voice calm despite everything. She wasn’t listening. 

“I wouldn’t have time to dispose of your bodies, though,” she said, looking over her shoulder at Jonas, who was still unconscious. “They would know someone else had been here. Unless…” She trailed off, thinking. “I’d have to kill him too,” she realized. “Make it look like a murder-suicide.” 

“Eva,” Isak stopped her, hoping that a single outburst wouldn’t be enough to make her pull the trigger. She whipped her head around like she’d forgotten he was there at all. “You’re talking about a triple murder,” he warned, hoping logic would kick in at some point even though he knew panic like this didn’t lend well to logic. “All you have to do is tell the cops exactly what you told us. Tell them that Jonas was blackmailing you. Tell them none of it was your fault. They’ll give you a plea deal. They’ll—” He was making things up and Eva could tell. 

“I’m still guilty of felony theft and kidnapping,” she snapped. “There’s no arguing my way out of that. No, this is my only option…” The gun was still pointed at Isak and he watched with bated breath as she moved her finger to the trigger. He could feel Even next to him, looking on—could sense the panic rolling off of him in waves—but Isak felt a peace wash over him because he knew that if Eva pulled that trigger once, she wouldn’t get the chance to do it again. That would be the only distraction Even needed to disarm her, if he was thinking clearly enough to do so. Isak prayed that he was. 

Eva’s eyes met his and there was a kindness there that he wouldn’t have expected from the person set to take his life, but it was nice, in a way, to at least know that she felt bad about it. He wondered if his eyes had brought any comfort to the man that he killed. “I’m very sorry to do this on your honeymoon,” she said and despite everything, Isak couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up in his chest. She still thought they were married—at least he had done one thing right. 

After that, everything happened fast. Eva pushed down on the trigger, signing his death warrant, but before the gun could fire, he was being pushed out of the way by a solid wall of muscle. Then there were two simultaneous bangs as Isak crashed to the floor with Even on top of him. 

“POLICE,” an unfamiliar voice yelled and Isak could hear the footsteps of Sana’s SWAT team surrounding them. “Put down your weapon!” 

There was a soft whimper and then the clash of metal against concrete as Eva dropped her gun. Within seconds, Isak heard the _click_ of handcuffs snapping closed and he breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the danger had finally passed. On top of him, Even didn’t move. 

“Ev,” he muttered, asking to be let up. Even stayed still for a few more seconds and Isak probably would have been worried if it wasn’t for the fact that he could feel Even’s heart pounding against his own chest. They were both alive—alive and safe in each other’s arms. Eventually, Even moved, sitting up just enough to look down into Isak’s eyes. They were both still breathing hard, but there was a look of relief on his face that set Isak at ease. 

“Are you okay?” Even asked breathlessly, reaching down to cup Isak’s face and tilting it from side to side as if he were looking for bullet wounds. “Fuck, Isak. I thought I’d lost you.” 

“You thought you’d lost _me_?” Isak cried, slightly insulted. “ _You’re_ the one that got kidnapped! I’ve been searching for you for—” 

Before he could finish, Even closed the distance between them and kissed Isak like it was both the first and the last kiss they would ever share. It tasted like sweat and blood—like fear and relief mingled together—and Isak kissed him back with all of the life left inside of him because he realized at that moment, as Even’s touch lit him on fire, that he had almost lost it all. He tangled his fingers in Even’s hair and pulled him closer, kissed him harder, and dreamed about the future they would spend in each other’s arms. 

They were interrupted by Sana’s curt, “Even, you’re bleeding.” She sounded unimpressed and not at all worried, but Isak pulled away immediately. 

“What?!” he cried, pushing Even off of him. “Where?” Even grumbled, but sat up—and sure enough, there was a dark red stain soaking through the side of his white shirt. Isak’s blood ran cold. 

“It’s fine,” Even assured him with a roll of his eyes and he sounded so casual that Isak couldn’t help but believe him. “It just grazed me.” He stood with only a small wince and held his hand out to help Isak up. 

“You promise?” Isak asked, knowing that Even wouldn’t lie to him. 

“I promise,” Even insisted. “Now come on.” Isak took his hand and even once he was finally on his feet, he didn’t dare let go. Not for a second. 

The two of them followed Sana through the maze of people out into the night. Eva and Jonas were already sitting handcuffed in the back of two separate police cars and that was when it finally hit Isak that it was over. He was free. The ring around his finger no longer meant anything. He was Isak Valtersen again—not Isak Andersen. He wasn’t actually sure whether he was happy about that. 

“This way,” Sana said, forcing his attention away from Jonas, who was glaring at him without even a trace of the camaraderie Isak had grown used to over the past week. “We need to get that looked at.” 

She led them to a parked ambulance and Even reluctantly let go of Isak’s hand so that he could climb into the back of it and pull his bloody T-shirt over his head. The paramedic ushered him to a gurney and he took a seat on the edge with an annoyed huff. Isak knew he shouldn't stay—knew that there was probably a line of detectives waiting to talk to him—but he followed Even into the back of the rig anyway and placed his hand on his bare shoulder to let him know he was still there as the paramedic began looking at the wound on his side. 

“It’s just a surface wound,” she said after a second and Even turned to Isak with one smug eyebrow raised. _I told you so_ , it seemed to say and Isak rolled his eyes. “I’ll clean and dress it, but then you’ll be good to go.” 

“Thanks,” Even said and the girl got to work. 

Sana had wandered off as Even was assessed, but she was back now with two ice cold bottles of water in hand. “Here,” she said, practically shoving them into each of their chests. “Drink.” Even didn’t need to be told twice. It had been over twenty-four hours since he’d had anything to drink and he finished the whole bottle quickly. Once satisfied that he was properly hydrated, Sana rounded on Isak. 

“What the fuck were you thinking, going in there without backup?” she snapped. “You could have gotten yourself killed—you almost _did_ get yourself killed. God, I should fire you right now. If I hadn’t shown up when I did, you would both be dead.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Isak said, looking away from her to watch as the paramedic placed a bandage over Even’s wound. Sana snapped her fingers, demanding his attention once more. “What? You were right, I was wrong. Is that what you want to hear?” 

“No!” she cried hysterically. “I want you to be fucking sorry, but I know you’re not!” She was right. Isak wasn’t. “And you!” she said, rounding on Even who shrunk under her gaze. “What kind of fucking idiot takes off his location tracker when he’s searching for a fucking _kidnapper_?” 

“Now, Sana,” Even said, matter-of-factly. “It sounds like you’re victim-blaming.” When Sana just continued to glare, he shrugged, causing the paramedic to hum in annoyance and reach out to hold him still. “Don’t look at _me_ ,” he cried. “I was unconscious. It’s all Isak’s fault.” 

Sana was still fuming and it looked like there were about a million more things she wanted to say, but she just pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “Are you okay?” she asked, turning to Isak. He understood without words that she wasn’t just talking about his physical well-being. He’d almost been shot today. Even _had_ been shot today—barely, but it still counted. 

“I’m good,” he reassured her, squeezing Even’s shoulder. Even reached up to squeeze his hand in return. Sana’s eyes flitted to the gesture and softened. 

“You two fucking idiots,” she muttered and then turned around, hastily wiping her eyes on her sleeve as she walked away. “Your flight home is first thing tomorrow morning—I’ll email you the tickets—and your reports are due on my desk by the end of the day. Have a nice night.” Then, without another word, she disappeared into the crowd, leaving them alone. 

“All done,” the paramedic said once Sana was gone, hopping down out of her own ambulance. “Here, drink another bottle of water while I go check on the guy you clocked over the head. Don’t go anywhere. I want to take your blood pressure once you’ve got some fluids in you.” 

Even clearly didn’t like being babied, but he seemed to appreciate the water nevertheless because he swallowed down half of it before he even stopped for air. Isak circled around to his front, letting his fingers trail over Even’s bare collarbone as he moved, and then situated himself between his outstretched legs. Even wrapped his arms around his waist immediately and Isak could feel the cold water bottle pressing against the overheated skin of his back. He didn’t mind it. 

“Did you really come after me without backup?” Even asked and Isak could see the sadness in his eyes, but he wasn’t going to lie to him. 

“I did,” he admitted. “It was a calculated risk I was willing to take. I thought your life might be in danger.” 

Even sighed deeply like he wanted to be mad, but couldn’t expend the effort to actually get there. “My life’s not worth yours,” he said, but Isak started shaking his head before he could even finish. 

“You don’t get to decide that,” he said, feeling strangely emotional. He cupped Even’s face in his hands and pressed their foreheads together, needing to feel him, to touch him, to know that he was real. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past year, it’s that I don’t want to live without you. So if you’re angry about me doing exactly what you would have done in my situation—well, that’s too damn bad. Next time tell them to kidnap me instead and you stay behind to make the responsible decisions. It’s harder than it looks.” He nuzzled closer to Even, trying to knock the frown off of his face, and after a few lazy presses of their noses against each other, Even finally smiled. 

“Stop,” he whined, leaning in to place a soft kiss on Isak’s lips. Butterflies danced in his stomach. “I’m trying to be mad at you.” 

“You can’t,” Isak argued, pulling him in for an even deeper kiss. “It’s impossible.” 

They kissed for a little while longer, oblivious to the people milling about around them, but when Isak finally pulled away for propriety’s sake, Even grabbed his hand and reeled him back in like the thought of separating pained him. Isak curled into the warmth of his body and stayed there for a minute before he realized that Even still had a hold of his hand and was spinning his wedding band around his finger absentmindedly. Isak pulled away and looked down at the bright, shiny symbol of their fake marriage with a sort of fondness that he definitely hadn’t expected when all of this started. 

“I guess we don’t need these anymore, huh?” he asked, looking up into Even’s eyes. He seemed happier than he had in a long time even though he was covered in blood, sitting in the back of an ambulance. 

“I guess not,” Even agreed, looking down at his own ring. “It’s too bad. I kinda got used to it.” 

The look he gave Isak then was so hopeful that Isak couldn’t stop the wide smile that pulled at his lips. He felt like a schoolboy getting asked to prom, but it was bigger than that somehow. It was like his whole life had been distilled down to just this one perfect moment. “Maybe someday,” Isak said, thinking about Even in a tux walking down the aisle to meet him. 

Even returned his smile and leaned in for one last long, slow kiss filled with the promise of forever. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Someday.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smutty epilogue to follow ;) Thanks for reading!


	11. Epilogue

Even was lying sprawled out naked on their mattress, which was still sitting flat on the floor because they hadn’t found the time to assemble the bed yet. His eyes were closed and his hands were fisted tightly into the sheets at his side as he whispered Isak’s name over and over again like a prayer and a plea all in one. His dick was hard against his stomach, pre-come already leaking from the tip, and his chest was flushed from the effort it was taking him to stay still. He was absolutely beautiful. 

Isak sat back on his heels, just as naked as Even was, and watched him for a second. He watched the way his chest heaved with every breath, watched as his toes curled into the mattress, watched his dick twitch in anticipation. Isak smirked and then climbed up his body until he was straddling him. “Good boy,” he teased, leaning forward so that his lips were hovering just above Even’s, but Even kept his eyes clenched shut and did not move. Frustrated, Isak stuck out his tongue and licked Even’s top lip until he smiled and _finally_ opened his eyes. 

“Can I touch you now?” he asked petulantly, his hands coming up to cup Isak’s cheeks, but Isak just pushed them back down and shook his head. 

“Five more minutes,” he promised and Even groaned. 

“That’s what you said five minutes ago.” 

“Well I thought I would be done kissing you five minutes ago, but I’m not. So just stay still and let me do all the work.” Even glared at him, but there was no real heat behind it. He’d had a long day—they both had—and after almost a year together, Isak knew that this was the best way to relax him. 

After making sure that Even’s hands were tangled in the sheets once more, he kissed him for real, slipping his tongue into his mouth and relishing the way that Even chased his taste like he knew Isak was going to take it away soon and he wanted to savor it for as long as possible. When Isak did pull away, Even managed to reel him back in—even without hands—by sitting up and capturing his lips once more. Isak pushed him back to the bed but indulged him by kissing him how he so obviously wanted to be kissed: long and deep and dirty. But eventually he had to pull away because his own dick was getting painfully hard against Even’s thigh and he didn’t want to lose his focus. This wasn’t about him. 

“Stay,” he ordered and then immediately latched his already swollen lips onto Even’s neck and kissed the sweat off of his skin. He could feel Even’s subsequent groan vibrating against his lips and it did nothing to relieve his hard-on, so he nipped the skin there in farewell and then began drifting lower, licking and kissing every inch of Even’s chest until he reached the puckered scar on his abdomen. Even’s breath quickened and Isak knew that this was usually where he would pull Isak back to his mouth to distract him, but Isak wouldn’t let him move and there was nowhere left to hide. 

Still, Isak didn’t want to take without first asking for permission, so he looked up at Even from beneath his eyelashes, needing to know that he wasn’t pushing him farther than he was willing to go. Even kept their eyes locked for several long seconds before his breathing finally started to slow and he nodded. Without hesitation, Isak kissed the rough skin of his scar, showing Even that he loved every part of him—mistakes and all—and as Even shivered under the soft brush of his lips, Isak realized that it was something he needed to be told more often. 

Isak knew that he was the only person to ever touch Even’s scar with the kind of tender devotion that he deserved and to do so while they were making love felt incredibly intimate. Suddenly, the lust that Isak had been working to keep pushed down exploded full-force until every nerve ending in his body was tingling with anticipation. It wasn’t just Even he was torturing anymore. Every second he spent without Even inside of him was a second wasted. He needed him now. 

Even had gone a bit soft as Isak focused his attention elsewhere, but when Isak trailed his fingertips over his dick experimentally, it gave an excited twitch. Isak smirked and then reached for the lube. 

“Thank fuck,” Even said when he heard the _snick_ of the cap being popped open. Isak chuckled, squirting some into his palm and then rubbing his hands together to warm it up. “Stop playing stupid games and just—” Isak began stroking Even with his right hand as he fondled his balls with his left and Even immediately broke off on a moan. “Fuck.” 

Isak worked him back to hardness as Even shook beneath his touch—and it was addicting, making him feel this good. It was like a drug that Isak couldn’t get enough of. He loved being able to get Even out of his own head. Loved being able to distract him from work and the mountains of boxes they still had left to unpack. Even’s breath quickened and his hips lifted off of the bed so that he could shove himself deeper into Isak’s fist. Isak could tell that he was right on the edge of coming and it took every ounce of his self-control to stop before letting him get there. He wasn’t quite sure when exactly Even’s pleasure had become more important to him than his own, but it was. It really fucking was. 

When his hand stilled, Even groaned in frustration. “Isak, I swear to god.” 

Isak straddled his hips once more and then, with the ease of someone who had done this a hundred times before, lined Even up at his entrance and sank down on top of him. The burn was more than he was used to because it had been a little while since he had prepped himself hastily in the bathroom, but the idea that he might still be feeling this tomorrow made it worth it. 

Even’s eyes were once again closed tight, but his mouth was open in a silent scream of rapture. Isak rolled his hips experimentally, just to see what he would do, and he grinned when Even let out a ragged moan that echoed around the empty room. 

Unable to stay away, Isak leaned forward, changing the angle of Even inside of him, and pulled him in for another kiss. Even forgot the rules and reached up to tangle his fingers in Isak’s hair, but Isak just let him. He needed to feel him too. When he eventually broke the kiss, however, he took Even's hands in his and pinned them to the mattress above his head, silently instructing him to hold them in place. 

“Are you serious?” Even groaned. “Isak!” 

“Just trust me,” Isak smirked and then rolled his hips once more. Even seemed to forget his argument immediately, thrusting his hips up to meet Isak’s. “I’m going to take care of you,” he whispered and although he’d meant it to sound dirty, it came out so full of love that his heart felt like it might explode. 

“Okay,” Even agreed with a sigh. “But you might want to hurry because I’m about to come.” 

Isak didn’t need to be told twice. He pushed himself up on his knees, letting Even slip out of him until just the tip was inside, and then sank back down. Even moved with him, following his cues, and they quickly worked up a slow, steady rhythm that had the heat in Isak’s belly burning hotter with each thrust. 

Soon, he got completely lost in it—in the rhythm of Even’s body rocking against his, in the sound of his moans, in the way he finally felt whole with Even filling him up from the inside. It was like a strange parody of the first time they’d had sex, only this time it wasn’t wild and mindless, spurred on by years of untapped lust. This time it was slow, each movement precise, because now Isak knew Even’s body better than he knew his own. Knew exactly what it took to make him come so hard he would feel it _everywhere_. 

He clenched tightly around Even’s cock, wanting to feel more of him, and Even hissed, reaching up to grab Isak’s hips like he needed something to hold on to that would keep him grounded. Isak didn’t bother correcting him, just maintained his steady rhythm and waited, knowing that Even was getting close to his breaking point. His fingernails were digging into the bare skin at Isak’s hips, but Isak loved the pain, loved the bruises that would be left behind tomorrow. He sped up his movements just enough to break the predictable rhythm he had set and that was all it took for Even to squeeze his eyes shut and pull Isak down hard on top of him as he came with only a soft grunt, his body trembling in ecstasy. 

Isak soothed him through it, stroking his hair softly, and preened when Even leaned into his touch like a cat. It wasn’t the type of needy and desperate fuck that had defined the first few months of their relationship, but this was so much better. It felt like Isak was giving a part of himself to Even every time their bodies became one and he knew that no matter how hard he tried, he would never be whole again. He had given too much of himself away. That thought didn’t scare him like it once would have. 

Even was panting, his eyes wide as he looked up at Isak, and although Isak’s cock was uncomfortably hard, he didn’t actually feel any need to come. He was happy with just the high of getting Even off. Even, however, seemed to disagree. He flipped them so that Isak was laying with his back to the mattress and then slowly pulled out of him, letting his come drip down Isak’s perineum. Isak shivered as the liquid left his body, but before he could really even miss the perfect way Even filled him up, Even used two fingers to push his come back inside and then took Isak’s dick into his mouth and sucked. 

Isak, who hadn’t expected the sudden explosion of wet heat wrapped around him, thrust up into Even’s mouth, causing him to gag, but Even just pushed his hips back down and took him deeper until Isak could feel him swallowing around the tip of his dick. 

“Fuck, Even,” he hissed, threading his fingers through Even's hair. Even hummed in acknowledgment and then made quick work of tearing Isak apart piece by piece. He sucked him off fast, making slurping sounds as saliva pooled from his mouth, and that combined with the way he was rubbing his nimble fingers against Isak’s prostate had him creeping close to the edge quickly. “I’m going to come,” he warned, but he didn’t actually expect Even to pull off because Isak had been very vocal about how much he loved it when he swallowed and Even had a huge kink for doing the things that Isak loved. 

Even opened his mouth and let the tip of Isak’s dick rest on his tongue as he jerked him off. Just the sight of Even’s smug blue eyes had Isak shooting in seconds, painting his lips and his tongue in white cords of come. 

“Fuck,” he hissed once Even had slipped his fingers out of him. He sat up and tried to use his hands to wipe as much come off of Even’s face as he could, but Even just chuckled under his ministrations and pushed him back down onto the mattress so that he could kiss him hard, letting Isak taste his own seed on Even’s tongue. 

Soon they were mouthing at each other more than actually kissing—both exhausted— so Even collapsed down next to Isak and pulled him onto his chest where he could hear the racing beat of his heart as they both came down from their high. Even as their come dried into a tacky mess on both of their bodies, neither of them moved. The house they had just bought together felt too big all of a sudden and Isak wanted to stay cradled into the small space under Even’s arm forever. 

“You know it’s not always about me, right?” Even asked after a minute, laughter evident in his voice. “I like doing it your way too. I can live without the eye contact for a few minutes.” 

Isak snorted and tilted his head so that they were smiling up at each other. “Maybe when we christen the kitchen,” he said and Even huffed out a laugh. 

“Deal.” 

They stayed cuddled together as their breathing slowed, but they both knew that they didn’t have the luxury of falling asleep. Their work for the day was just getting started. 

“You want some water?” Even asked, sitting up. Isak nodded absently and watched as Even climbed out of bed and stepped into his discarded boxer shorts. “Okay, I’ll be back in a minute.” 

Isak let his eyes drift closed as Even left, but without the warmth of his touch lying next to him, he was suddenly acutely aware of how sweaty and disgusting he was. He tried to ignore it, but the dried come on his legs was caking into his skin, making him itchy, and Isak finally had to admit defeat. With a heavy sigh, he sat up and began looking across the field of unpacked boxes in their room, trying to determine by sheer willpower alone which one contained their towels and washcloths. Unsure, he grabbed the one closest to him and pulled open the top. 

Inside were Even’s movies and art supplies, which did Isak no good. He rummaged through it a bit just to make sure there wasn’t an old T-shirt or a paper towel or _something_ hidden inside, but he had no luck. He was just about to close it back up and move on to the next one when he saw a small wooden keepsake box sitting on top of a stack of DVDs. Even usually kept it right beside their bed and because Isak knew what was inside, it didn’t feel right leaving it packed, so he pulled it out of the box and set it on the bedside table next to their mattress. That was one thing unpacked, at least. 

Isak wanted to make sure that the contents hadn’t been disturbed, so he opened the box just to check. Thankfully, Mikael’s badge was unharmed, sitting buried in a bed of black velvet. That wasn’t the only thing there, however. Sitting next to the badge were two very familiar looking wedding bands. Confused, Isak scooped them up, slipped into his own boxers, and then followed Even into the kitchen. 

Despite the state of their bedroom, the rest of the house was actually coming together nicely. They’d finished unpacking the kitchen yesterday and the living room that morning. Isak was pretty sure he had never hung so many photographs in his life, but he had to admit that it was nice seeing Mikael’s smiling face as he walked through his new home. Isak knew that Even still felt the loss of him every day, but after two years, the wound had finally stopped festering. It was time for them both to heal. 

When Isak stepped into the kitchen, he had to refrain from rolling his eyes at the sight of the Christmas card Vilde and Magnus had sent them months before, which was still hanging on the refrigerator. They had found out after everything that Vilde was the daughter of some fancy real estate mogul and had been gifted a trip to Paradise as part of her wedding present. Even was determined to maintain correspondence with them despite Isak's protestations. “We need friends to do ‘couple activities’ with, Isak. Plus, now that I know they’re not criminals, I kind of like them.” 

Isak ignored the picture, as usual, and turned his attention to Even instead, who was singing a catchy pop song to himself. Upon noticing Isak, he instantly smiled and tried to reel him in so that they could dance. Isak groaned, pretending to be frustrated, but didn’t argue when Even wrapped his arms around his waist and swayed with him in time to the music he was singing. 

“I was going to bring it to you,” Even pouted, nodding over to two glasses of champagne and a bowl of strawberries that was sitting on the counter. 

“I got distracted,” Isak admitted. 

“By me?” Even smirked, clearly pleased. Isak rolled his eyes and then unwound his arms from around Even’s neck so that he could show him the rings in his palm. 

“I found these,” he said, holding them out. “Why do you still have them?” 

He expected Even to laugh and admit that he’d pestered Sana for them for nostalgic reasons, but he didn’t do that. Instead, he stiffened under Isak’s touch and grimaced like he hadn’t intended for him to find them at all. Isak looked down at the rings again and, standing under the bright lights in the kitchen, he began to notice what he hadn’t in their dimly lit bedroom. The rings weren’t scratched like they had been before—they hadn’t been tarnished by years of disuse. They looked brand new. They _were_ brand new. 

“These aren’t the same rings,” he realized. 

“No,” Even agreed, stepping out of Isak’s personal space so that he could see them better. Isak looked up at him in surprise, watching as a blush spread across his cheeks. “They’re replicas.” 

“Okay,” Isak said, but he still felt a bit lost. “Why did you buy replicas?” 

Even shrugged. “Because the originals were pulled off of two murder victims whose bodies were never claimed and I didn’t think that would be very good luck.” Despite the morbidity of that statement, Isak’s stomach flipped in nervous anticipation. 

“Good luck for what?” he asked breathlessly. 

Even tilted his head and rolled his eyes like he couldn’t believe Isak was even asking him that. “You know for what.” His cheeks continued to darken, but he didn't look away. It took everything inside of Isak to keep from rushing forward and kissing him right then. 

“Yeah,” Isak agreed, happiness bubbling up inside of him. “But I want you to say it.” 

“Seriously, Isak?” Even whined. “I had this whole thing planned out. I made reservations at a really nice resort—one without all of the kidnapping—and we were going to spend the whole week just making love. Well, except for the one day I wanted to take you snorkeling because we never got the chance before and—” 

“Oh my god, Even,” Isak stopped him because he knew he would keep rambling if someone didn’t. “I swear I will take you snorkeling.” Even sighed. 

“You really want me to do this now?” he asked. “While we’re both in our underwear and you still have come all over you?” 

Isak looked down at his thighs and blushed. “Shut up. I couldn’t find any towels.” 

Even laughed and pulled him closer, tilting Isak’s chin up with his finger so that they were staring into each other’s eyes. “Do you really want me to do this now?” he repeated, his face softening. 

Isak thought about whether he was ready to give him an honest answer and he was unsurprised to find that he had never been more certain about anything in his entire life. He would have given Even the same answer years ago. They had belonged to each other for a long time now—even when neither of them was willing to admit it. 

“Yes,” he breathed. “I’m not going to be able to stop thinking about it if you don’t.” 

Even smiled and then crept his fingers down Isak’s wrist until he could steal the rings from his hand. 

“I almost died once,” he said casually and Isak felt his breath hitch in his throat at the terrifying reminder of that night. He knew Even didn’t like thinking about it and he couldn’t imagine why he was bringing it up now. “And they say that when you die, your whole life flashes before your eyes, but when _I_ died, all I saw was you. That terrified me back then, but it doesn’t terrify me now. You _are_ my whole life—my everything—and I want to marry you, Isak Valtersen. For real this time.” 

Although Isak had known it was coming, he still couldn’t find the words to speak. Even just grinned, like his silence was endearing, and then reached out and took Isak’s hand in his, slipping the ring onto his finger. Isak stared down at what he had once seen as a cage and couldn’t believe how freeing it felt to be looking at it now. This ring had torn away his defenses and brought him and Even together when Isak hadn’t thought it was possible. It had ripped off his mask, turning him into the person he was always meant to be. 

He forced himself to look back at Even even though tears were already threatening to fall. He was surprised to find that Even’s eyes were shiny as well. “Yes,” he said before realizing that Even hadn’t actually asked him a question. “I want to marry you too.” 

Even’s face broke into a wide grin and then he was laughing, releasing all of his pent-up energy as he grabbed Isak’s cheeks and kissed him with all of the love that they shared. And even though Isak was still in his boxers, covered in come, it was perfect. 

Even had been a lot of things to him since they’d met so many years ago: his coworker, his partner, his best friend, and now, impossibly, the love of his life. It was true that their story was marred by death and heartbreak, but whose story wasn’t? They had survived it—they were stronger because of it—and that was all that mattered. 

“I love you,” he whispered against Even’s lips and Even smiled before kissing him back like he couldn’t bring himself to separate them for even a second. 

Isak had learned at a young age that life wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that he got more than his fair share of happiness while Mikael’s was ripped from him so young, but the only way they could honor his memory was to live and to love with everything they had inside of them. And that’s exactly what Isak planned to do. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why I'm emotional about finishing this fic, but I really am. So thank you to everyone who has left kudos or commented. I had so much fun writing this verse and the fact that it has been so well-received has really touched my heart. Thanks again and I hope you enjoyed your smutty epilogue ❤️❤️❤️


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